Mom's Kids Die in Hot Car in Carolina

[RedGlitter]

Authorities puzzled about mother in deaths of children left in hot car


Story Highlights

After sitter canceled, mother left 2 children in hot car with fans, food, drinks

She worked 8 hours, then she said she had to leave due to child-care issues

A day later, police found her at her apartment wailing, "Oh, my babies!"

The children's bodies, bathed and dressed, were found wrapped in trash bagsHANAHAN, South Carolina (AP) -- Sametta Heyward was in a bind. The single mother was scheduled to start a double shift at 3 p.m., and her baby sitter had just canceled.

"She was either told to come to work or be fired, or she was afraid to call in sick -- one of those things," said police Lt. Michael Fowler.

She made it to her job at a county-run group home July 29, a typically warm summer day. After eight hours, she called a supervisor and said she had to leave because of child-care issues.

According to her employer, she didn't tell the supervisor or a co-worker that for all that time, she had left her 1-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son in her Chevy Cavalier hatchback, parked on a residential street.

She had left Triniti and Shawn with battery-powered fans, food and drinks, but it was not nearly enough to combat the sweltering conditions inside. She later told relatives that when she got to the car at 11:30 p.m., the children were unconscious and had weak pulses.

A day later, police found her at her apartment wailing, "Oh, my babies!"

Officers said in a police report that she tried to kick and bite them and asked them to kill her. The bodies of the children, bathed and dressed, were found wrapped in trash bags and stuffed under the sink.

Heyward, 27, was charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse. A funeral for the children was held Saturday.

Lab tests are pending that could help determine whether the children died in the stifling car or sometime after their mother rushed their limp bodies back to their tiny apartment.

A host of other questions remain unanswered: Why didn't she take the children inside the group home? Did she ever check on them? Why didn't she tell her supervisor that the baby sitter had canceled? If the children were alive when she got to them, why didn't she seek medical help?

People who know her say they considered her a loving mother, despite a life that turned tough long before she moved into the 252-square-foot efficiency apartment.

"She and her kids were always happy, smiling and joking," said Tony Smith, who lived a few doors down and often shared meals with the family.

Smith's wife, Sheryce Robertson, would sometimes baby-sit, but Robertson was sick when Heyward asked her to care for the kids that Sunday.

It was an average summer day by South Carolina standards: 88 degrees. But the inside of the car would have been like an oven, according to experts, who say the children may not have had much of a chance even if the windows were cracked.

"If it's in direct sunlight, you can easily get temperatures of 130 or 140 degrees in a car in 10 or 15 minutes," said Dr. Keith Borg, an emergency room physician at the Medical University of South Carolina. "At that kind of temperature, it could kill an infant or a small child in minutes."

Her friends and her bosses -- and even the officers who arrested her -- say Heyward had been trying her best: working long hours and providing for her children.

In May, she and her children had moved into the $185-a-week apartment in Hanahan, a bedroom community of about 14,000 people some 15 miles from Charleston. She told the apartment complex manager they wouldn't be there long, that she was already looking for another place.

She had been arrested twice in the past three years, but she was not prosecuted on a charge of hindering an officer and was found not guilty of first-degree criminal domestic violence in February 2006.

A few months before the move, she put a newborn up for adoption. A 12-year-old son lives with his father in Maryland.

If those things affected her, it didn't show on the job. In a recent statement, the Disabilities Board of Charleston County said Heyward "was a valued employee who received good evaluations of her work" and was well-regarded by staff and clients.

Her lawyer, Andy Savage, said he hopes a mental evaluation will shed light on what happened.

"Neighbors see her as a great mother. This isn't a woman who beat her kids," he said. "Suppose she went to work that night and left them at home. Would that have been better?"

Attached files

[neffy]

very sad story Red:-1 it is one of those stories that the even if she went prison for some years the guilt will always be with her.

[cars]

Some people are just plain stupid/thoughtless to leave their youngsters skin or fur out in a car, in Hot or Cold weather! In addition to the temp danger, it would also seem important that "kidnapping" (or pet napping) should be foremost on their minds, apparently not. There are plenty of sick people in the world that abduct kids from their bedrooms, how much more easy could these parents make it for them then to leave the little ones out in an unattended car!? :-5:yh_frustr:yh_angry

[RedGlitter]

The part that makes me feel bad (aside from the obvious) is that she provided fans and food and stuff to drink. She must have thought she was doing well. But still I mean, everyone knows not to leave their pets in the car on a hot day so why would you leave a child in there? If she was working at a group home, couldn't the kids have gone inside with her? It was so unnecessary.

[spot]

Societies with no social safety net push those at the extreme edge, who are more likely than most to be inept in the first place, beyond the space in which they can act competently. Most of them manage despite the lack of concern of others. The odd exception, in desperation, loses sight of what's essential when faced with what she sees as critical and immediate. The consequences are heartbreaking for everyone but blaming just the woman whose perception collapsed is compacent. This is a systemic failure of society to help when help's needed. It's a choice that was taken collectively a long time ago. The guilt goes with that choice.

[pinkchick]

I am speechless....-1

[Peg]

This story is so sad in so many ways. :-1

[[love]light]

spot;674173 wrote: Societies with no social safety net push those at the extreme edge, who are more likely than most to be inept in the first place, beyond the space in which they can act competently. Most of them manage despite the lack of concern of others. The odd exception, in desperation, loses sight of what's essential when faced with what she sees as critical and immediate. The consequences are heartbreaking for everyone but blaming just the woman whose perception collapsed is compacent. This is a systemic failure of society to help when help's needed. It's a choice that was taken collectively a long time ago. The guilt goes with that choice.


I feel terrible for this lady. As I can see, she was simply ignorant to the perils of a hot car. Its hard to remember, but we must, there are some who simply do not have the intelligence or common sense that most possess.



I agree with Spot, push a person to the edge & you will see what happens. If they feel like they have no options, they will make them up.

Its a sad state of affairs. I'm sure she will carry this guilt around for the rest of her life. Prison is unnecessary.

[spot]

'[love wrote: light;674323']If they feel like they have no options, they will make them up.That's one of the most perceptive observations I've ever seen of someone living at an extreme hoping not to fall, however close or far the bottom is.

[Angelica]

If she found them still alive, why did she not take them to the nearest hospital, or better yet, bring them inside the facility she was working at? She took them home to die. I just do not get that mentality.

The most she would have been charged with is neglect, now she is charged with double murder.

[RedGlitter]

Angelica;674493 wrote: If she found them still alive, why did she not take them to the nearest hospital, or better yet, bring them inside the facility she was working at? She took them home to die. I just do not get that mentality.

The most she would have been charged with is neglect, now she is charged with double murder.


I wondered that too, Angelica. Calling an ambulance even if they were practically dead would have been the thing to do. But when we got to the part about them being dressed and under the sink in trash bags, what was that about? How long was she going to keep them there? While I certainly don't think she intentionally tried to hurt them and I leave room for the shock factor, there's something not right about that sink business, IMO.