FORT WORTH, TX (KTVT/CNN) – A 9-month-old in Texas died after his babysitter put the boy, strapped into his car seat, inside a closet to take a nap.
Officers say the boy, who was strapped into a portable car seat, was found unconscious in a walk-in closet at his babysitter’s house late Monday night.
"I think what she was doing was she put the baby down to sleep but did not want to put the baby on the bed by itself because she was afraid it would possibly roll over. So, she left the child in the car seat is what she did,” said Officer Brad Perez with the Fort Worth Police Department.
Police say the babysitter was looking after 10 or 11 children at the time. She placed the boy and his car seat in a bedroom closet where it would be quiet enough for him to take a nap.
Two hours after the baby was last seen alive, police responded to the home on an “unconscious person” call and found the boy’s body.
The medical examiner ruled the 9-month-old was suffocated by the straps of his car seat. An unfastened lower strap between the boy’s legs was likely the cause, police say.
"What it sounds like is that bottom buckle was never attached. So, the baby unfortunately began to slide down, and the weight of himself against that beam is possibly what it is that caused him to suffocate,” Perez said.
Police say the boy’s death appears to be a tragic accident, but they are still investigating and haven’t ruled out a negligence charge.
A spokesperson for Child Protective Services says the state is investigating if the babysitter misrepresented herself as a daycare and how many children in the home she was paid to care for.
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