Latest news with #TripuraMerriex
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Mum 'locks crying toddler inside scorching 40C car while she goes to cinema'
An 18-year-old mum has been arrested after allegedly leaving her little girl inside a hot car unattended. Police say they had to smash the car window to free the 'distressed' child A teen mother locked her two-year-old daughter inside a blistering hot car so she could go and watch the new Smurfs film without interruption, police say. Tripura Merriex, 18, was allegedly frustrated that her child's "loud crying" was "disturbing" a cinema trip with her siblings, so proceeded to leave the little girl trapped in the hot car alone, while she carried on watching the movie. The alleged incident unfolded at the Regal Cinema in Lake City, Utah, on Saturday, where Merriex is said to have left her vulnerable tot in her 2002 Cadillac Escalade. The 18-year-old parent has been charged with felony child neglect, according to US police reports. Parents issued urgent heatwave car advice after five children die in just one month One-year-old baby dies in scorching hot 54C car while mum 'went to the spa' As temperatures skyrocketed to 40C, concerned witnesses called 911 to report Merriex and police were forced to bust a window to rescue the "distressed" child. In the arrest report, an officer said: "I applied a window break to the driver side window after observing the child in the front passenger seat." The toddler was "visibly distressed" when she was found trapped inside the vehicle, Law & Crime reports. Police allege that the two-year-old had "a flushed red appearance, was sweating profusely and was crying in distress". It is believed that the little girl was stuck inside the sweltering hot car for at least 30 minutes. When her mum eventually came out of the cinema, she was "very nonchalant", the police report claimed. Merriex claimed she "accidentally" locked her tot inside the car and "acted as though the whole situation wasn't a big deal as she just stood next to her vehicle", it said. The young mum said she initially brought her little girl out to the cinema lobby to keep her from "disrupting other movie viewers' experience," the report continued. After doing this "a few times", she allegedly ended up leaving her daughter alone in the car. She left the Smurfs film occasionally to go out and check on her daughter, police claim, and even allegedly tasked her siblings with taking it in turns to check on her. Merriex is reportedly being held at the Columbia County Jail on $50,000 (£36,9600) bond. "Our officers acted swiftly to ensure the safety of this young child," Chief of Police Gerald Butler said in a statement Monday. "Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable. We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritize the well-being of their children at all times." The two-year-old girl has recovered from the potentially fatal incident, according to her family who spoke to the local CBS station. It comes as another woman was arrested last monnth after allegedly leaving her two young children inside a parked car for more than two hours, resulting in the death of one child. In Bakersfield, California, officers responded to a report of a medical emergency at a business complex on South Real Road. Upon arrival, they discovered a one-year-old and a two-year-old unresponsive inside a vehicle. Police claim that the children had been left unattended while their mother, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez, was inside a spa. One of the children died from heat-related injuries, while the other was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition. So far this year, 15 children have tragically died in the United States after being left alone in vehicles, including in California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey, and North Carolina. According to Kids and Car Safety, a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting children and pets in motor vehicles, the number of child hot car deaths for 2024 was 39
NDTV
23-07-2025
- NDTV
US Teen Mother Arrested For Locking Baby Inside Hot Car To Enjoy Movie
An 18-year-old Florida teen has been arrested after she locked her daughter inside a sweltering car to watch a Smurfs movie with her siblings. The incident came to light after the Regal Cinema 90, located on US Highway 90, alerted authorities around 5:49 pm about a distressed child locked inside a vehicle. The officers, upon arrival, found the child, who looked flushed, was crying, and drenched in sweat, according to the Lake Police Department press release. The officers reported that the outside temperature was 34.4 degrees Celsius with a heat index of 41.7 degrees Celsius. The child was immediately rushed to the Lake City Medical Center for treatment. The accused, Tripura Merriex, told the officer that she had taken her daughter to the movie theatre, but the child started crying, disturbing others. The arrest report states, "Mrs. Merriex said that she brought [her daughter] out to the lobby to keep from disrupting other movie viewers' experience." According to Law and Crime, the Regal Cinema employee told the authorities that Merriex seemed very annoyed with her daughter's constant crying. They added that, at first, she left the Smurfs movie from time to time to go outside and check on her baby herself, but later, she reportedly asked her siblings to do the same. The cops told the outlet, "After a few trips of Mrs Merriex going out to her vehicle, the other two individuals that she had come into the cinema with started alternating out on every other trip." According to Merriex's arrest record, her husband later stated in interviews that she had a habit of making irrational decisions about how to handle their daughter's crying. He accused her of having "negative reactions to stress related to being a parent" and of lacking "patience" when it comes to caring for the child. Chief of Police Gerald Butler, in a press release, said, "Our officers acted swiftly to ensure the safety of this young child." He further said, "Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable. We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritise the well-being of their children at all times, he added." Merriex is presently being held on a $50,000 bond at the Columbia County Jail.
New York Post
23-07-2025
- New York Post
Mother locks crying child, 2, in sweltering car so she could watch ‘Smurfs' movie undisturbed: cops
An 18-year-old Utah mother locked her crying 2-year-old child in a sweltering car so she could watch the 'Smurfs' movie at a theater undisturbed, according to local police. Tripura Merriex pulled her crying daughter out of a showing of 'Smurfs' at the Regal Cinema in Lake City, Utah, on Saturday — and placed her in a 2002 Cadillac Escalade after failing to console the tot, according to CBS47. Temperatures reached 94 degrees with a heat index of 107 degrees Saturday in Utah, the Lake City Police Department said in a statement. Advertisement Tripura Mirriex, 18, is accused of locking her 2-year-old child in a hot car so that she could watch the 'Smurfs' movie undisturbed. Columbia County Jail Responding police officers busted in through a window of the Cadillac and found the child was 'sweating profusely and was crying in distress,' Law and Crime reported. When Mirriex emerged from the movie theater, she attempted to brush off concern, behaved 'very nonchalant,' and 'acted as though the whole situation wasn't a big deal as she just stood next to her vehicle,' the police report stated. Advertisement The callous cinephile claimed to have simply forgotten her young daughter in the car momentarily — but witnesses painted a different picture. Mirriex, who attended the movie with her younger brother and sister, purposefully put the child in the sweltering SUV and periodically checked on the kid as the movie played, according to a witness cited by CBS47. A movie theater employee stated that Mirriex purposefully put the child in the car and periodically visited the SUV during the film. Google Maps She even sent her siblings to check on her child while staying in the cool theater to watch 'Smurfs,' Law and Crime reported, citing a Regal Cinemas employee. Advertisement Mirriex was arrested and charged with felony child neglect and remains booked in Columbia County Jail, according to reports. The 2-year-old child has recovered from what could have been a fatal incident and is doing OK, the family told the local CBS affiliate station. So far this year, at least 15 children have died after being left in hot cars in the US, according to the National Safety Council. An average of 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke in vehicles.
