A mother in southern France has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after her two young sons died in a locked car during a heatwave. The boys, aged four and two, were found dead in Carpentras on Monday afternoon, having suffered heart attacks in temperatures exceeding 40C.
Prosecutors initially reported that the children had allegedly locked themselves inside the vehicle without their mother's knowledge. However, it has since emerged that the mother gave police several different versions of events, according to French daily Le Parisien.
In her original statement, the mother claimed she had left the children sleeping in the back of the car after a shopping trip. She later said they had climbed back inside without her knowledge while she was unloading groceries. A police source told AFP that the mother provided multiple contradictory accounts.
Local newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that the children took advantage of their mother's inattention to go outside and play, then climbed into the car parked in the driveway. The doors closed, trapping them inside. By the time the mother realised they were missing, it was too late.
Police and firefighters were called to the scene at around 1:10pm, but efforts to revive the children were unsuccessful. Carpentras prosecutor Hélène Mourges has opened a preliminary inquiry into unintentional manslaughter.
