Foster Mother Charged After 7-Month-Old Girl Allegedly Dies in Hot Car

A foster mother from North Carolina was arrested after authorities allege a 7-month-old girl in her care died in a hot car.

Djuna Bostick has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse in connection with the child’s death on Monday, June 9, according to a statement from the Hamlet Police Department. 

It’s unclear if she has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on her behalf.

Officers responded to a home in Hamlet, N.C. that day around 6 p.m. on a report of a medical emergency. At the scene, cops found a 7-month-old child unresponsive and “began life saving efforts” before EMS workers arrived, police said.

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The child was taken to a local hospital and died, per the police statement. The baby allegedly died due to “excessive heat,” ABC News reported, citing court documents.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by WCCB Charlotte and WLUC-TV, Bostick, 59, allegedly left her foster daughter in her van for an unknown period of time on a day when investigators said temperatures reached as high as 90 degrees.

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Bostick is being held in Richmond County Jail on a $500,000 bond, per the police statement. Police said the investigation remains ongoing.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.