A child protective services worker in Alabama has been arrested after a 3-year-old boy in her care died while left for hours in her car in 108-degree heat — and she’s already been cut loose on bail.
Department of Human Resources employee Kela Stanford, 54, was charged last Friday over Ke’Torrius Starks Jr.’s tragic July 22 demise in Birmingham that saw him left alone in the vehicle for five hours in the searing heat, police said.
Stanford, who works for a third-party contracted by the department, had been tasked with taking little Ke’Torrius to a supervised visit with his biological father the day he died.
The worker had picked the boy up from a day care where he’d been dropped off by his foster family ahead of the scheduled visit, according to authorities.
After the visit, Stanford allegedly ran errands — including stopping at a grocery and tobacco store — instead of taking the child back to the day care.
The worker then drove to her own home, where she left Ke’Torrius buckled inside the car with the windows rolled up — as temperatures soared to 108 degrees, cops allege.
The little boy was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Stanford was booked into the Jefferson County Jail under the state’s Amiyah White Act, which prohibits leaving a child or an incapacitated person unattended in a car.
She was released on a $30,000 bail that same day, jail records show.
“This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary,” the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how long Ke’Torrius had been with his foster family or why he was removed from his biological parents.
The visit with his biological father was part of a court-ordered process for parents to regain custody.
“Words can’t even express how I feel right now,” his father told KBTX.
“As soon as I leave my son, the first thing he says is, ‘Daddy, I want to go with you.’ He says that every time, and it really hurts.”
Stanford was fired over the tragedy.
“The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances,’ the agency said.
