Toddler was left to die in hot car while in state custody. Now a state foster care worker is facing charges
An Alabama foster care worker is facing up to 20 years in prison after a three-year-old boy in the state’s care died in a hot car last month.
Kela Stanford, 54, is charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr said Friday.
Ke’Terrious “KJ” Starkes Jr., a three-year-old from Bessemer, was pronounced dead July 22 after he was found alone in a car at a Birmingham home. Authorities said the car was off and its windows were rolled up when the toddler was found, KTLA reported.
The child was in the foster care system and had been picked up from daycare by Stanford, a contract employee of the State Department of Human Resources, for a scheduled visit with his father, NBC News reported.
He was supposed to be taken back to daycare after the visit but ended up at the suspect’s home, where he was left inside the car, police said. The child was discovered after his foster mother arrived at daycare to collect him, and discovered he wasn’t there.
The toddler was in the car for about five hours before he was found, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said.
Stanford had regularly driven the toddler to and from scheduled supervised visits, and it was not immediately clear what caused the child to be left in the car. Stanford was taken in for questioning and was cooperative, police said.
The boy’s biological father, who has not been identified, told WBRC that he last saw his son that morning.
“Words can’t even express how I feel right now,” he told the outlet, through tears. “As soon as I leave my son, the first thing he says is, ‘Daddy, I want to go with you.’ He says that every time, and it really hurts.”
The grieving father said that he usually handed over his son to a representative from a private child welfare provider, who was responsible for transporting his son to and from daycare.
“A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” a DHR spokesperson said. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
Stanford was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Friday and has been released on bond. If convicted, she faces between two and 20 years in prison.
