Jacksonville, FL – Per reports, the 34-year-old man from Florida, identified in court documents as Joell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child in connection with his baby’s death last year. His wife, the mother of the child, also faces charges and is awaiting trial, court records say.
According to the court documents, the incident occurred in July 2023. Prosecutors reported that after a night at a party, the father got into bed with his wife and fell asleep, leaving their infant in the car. Investigators revealed that he later returned to the vehicle to retrieve his cigarettes but did not notice the baby still strapped in the car seat. The investigation process began after hospital staff called 911 to report an unresponsive 1-year-old.
The investigation uncovered that the parents attended a party that evening with their three children, ages 8, 6, and 1. Both adults reportedly consumed alcohol and marijuana, and the father’s drug screening came back positive for methamphetamine. When the family returned home, the mother reportedly took the two older children inside and instructed her husband to bring in the baby. He brought other items into the house first, then, seeing the car doors closed, assumed his wife had already brought in the child.
The man did not check on the baby’s location when he came inside and went to bed with his wife. The next morning, the parents instructed the older children to check on the baby. After the eldest child informed them that the baby was not in the bedroom, they began searching and ultimately found the infant still strapped in the car seat. The father rushed the baby to the hospital, but doctors pronounced the child dead shortly after arrival. The medical examiner concluded that the cause of death was hyperthermia due to being left in a hot car.