A Texas woman was arrested Aug. 20 after police say she “intentionally” left her 15-month-old baby in a hot car without air conditioning.
Frisco, Texas, police said in a news release that officers responded to an infant death at Medical City Plano on Aug. 16. Upon investigation, police learned that 27-year-old Vanessa Esquivel arrived at work around 2 p.m. that day and left her baby in the car. The child died.
“Detectives believe Esquivel intentionally left her 15-month-old child for over two hours in a vehicle she knew did not have working air conditioning with an outside temperature of at least 95 degrees,” police said in the news release.
Detectives said they believed there was “probable cause” Esquivel committed murder because “intentionally leaving the child in the car caused injury/endangered the child.”
If found guilty of murder, Esquivel could face five years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to police. Her bond was set for $250,000, but she remains in jail, according to jail records. Esquivel’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Frisco police did not have any further comment.
In July, the Texas Department of State Health Services warned people of leaving kids in cars after four cases of children dying in parked cars in the state within two weeks. The four deaths in a two-week period surpassed the three hot car deaths in all of 2024.
“The heatstroke death of a child is a tragedy too often repeated in our state,” Jennifer A. Shuford, DSHS commissioner, said in the news release. “The temperature inside a vehicle can rise nearly 20 degrees in 10 minutes, and heatstroke will occur when a child’s body can’t cool itself quickly enough. Children — and pets — should never be left in the car for any length of time.”