Arrest made in death of baby abandoned in car in northern Arizona, deputies say

LAGOS DE CORDES, AZ (AZFamily) — A juvenile suspect has been arrested after a 6-month-old child was found dead after being left in a car for hours in Cordes Lakes Tuesday night.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said on social media that someone under the age of 18 was arrested and faces a charge of negligent homicide.

No other details have been revealed.

According to the sheriff’s office, the boy’s mother asked a neighbor, likely a teenager, for a ride to work in Prescott Valley on Tuesday. She took her baby with her.

After being dropped off, deputies say the mother asked her neighbor to leave the baby with the child’s father, saying she would be home shortly.

During the trip back to Cordes Lakes, the boy fell asleep in the back seat of his car.

The sheriff’s office says the neighbor arrived home around 2 p.m. and parked the car in a sunny spot. The neighbor reportedly entered the home alone.

At around 8:45 p.m., deputies say the boy’s father called the mother, who was still at work, to ask when the neighbor was going to bring her son home. She then called the neighbor, who investigators say noticed the baby was still in the car.

Investigators say the neighbor ran to find the child’s father and they pulled the baby out of the car. They immediately called 911 and began performing CPR.

Emergency crews arrived and pronounced the boy dead at the scene. The medical examiner also responded.

The sheriff’s office says its Criminal Investigations Bureau has taken over the case.

Investigators did not say whether it was the neighbor who was arrested.

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