A five-year-old boy has died after he was left inside a sweltering 40°C car at home while his parents hosted a party. Police believe Theo Sabo was rushed to hospital after being left inside his parents' vehicle for more than two-and-a-half hours in Peoria, Arizona, on Sunday (September 13). Tragically, he was pronounced dead by doctors.
Parents charged after child's death
Theo's parents, Mihail Sabo and Anca Sabo, have now been charged with negligent homicide and child abuse. Police said Theo was left in the car after a 'miscommunication'.
The family had been at church for the baptism of another child, and hosted a party at home that afternoon while Theo was in the car. Family members then started performing CPR when they discovered him, until the fire service took him to hospital where doctors confirmed he passed away.
Prosecutor and police comments
"The child was in the car for more than two and a half hours and the parents were not aware of his location during that whole time," Maricopa County attorney Brooke Gaunt said, reports Fox 10.
"It appears that it was either a miscommunication between who or which family member was supposed to get the child out of the car," William Kennedy with the Peoria Police Department said.
Defense argues charges inappropriate
In court, the parents' lawyer Leah Dodd argued abuse and negligent homicide charges were not appropriate.
"Mom is hosting a party at their home, assumes dad is gonna get [the boy]. Dad asks the 14-year-old [another child]. That's not asking a young child to get another child out of the vehicle," Dodd said.
"He was sleeping, and there was a lot going on, but this does not deviate from what a normal person would do in this situation."
Dodd added: "She called 911, she administered life-saving efforts, she answered all questions of detectives. This is not someone who is running away.
"Everything that she and her husband did upon finding the child in the vehicle was standard care."
Fundraiser for funeral costs
A GoFundMe has been established to support the family's funeral costs, which raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars by Wednesday.
