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Yamaguchi police arrest woman after infant left in car dies

A baby died of heatstroke after being left in a car (TBS News)
A baby died of heatstroke after being left in a car in a parking lot in Hofu City (TBS News)

YAMAGUCHI (TR) – Police arrested a woman over the death of her infant girl after she left her inside a car for nearly six hours in Hofu City, reports NHK (May 13).

Yamaguchi Prefectural Police arrested Rie Ogawa, 23, on suspicion of aggravated abandonment resulting in death for allowing her 2-month-old baby daughter to die of heatstroke by leaving her in her car from 10 a.m. until past 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at her apartment’s parking lot.

Ogawa has admitted to the charges, telling police she left her daughter in a child seat in the back seat.

After returning to the vehicle and finding her daughter not breathing, the suspect made an emergency call. Her car wasn’t running and the windows were closed with no air-conditioning on at the time, authorities said.

A maximum temperature of 25.7 Celsius was recorded in Hofu on Thursday.