Arkansas daycare worker charged after infant dies in hot car for 8 hours

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A 62-year-old daycare owner is facing a second-degree murder charge after police say a baby boy was left inside a hot vehicle for more than eight hours, ultimately dying from extreme heat exposure. The incident unfolded Wednesday at a daycare facility located at 8212 Frenchman Lane, where officers responded to reports of an “unresponsive infant.”

When officers arrived, they entered the daycare and located the child inside. The infant “succumbed to injuries” at the scene, according to the Little Rock Police Department. A police report cited by regional outlet KARK indicated the baby’s body temperature reached 110 degrees.

Timeline of events described by police

Investigators said the daycare’s owner, identified as Hope Jones, told detectives she had picked up the child from his foster mother at approximately 6:20 a.m. and transported him to the daycare. According to police, Jones admitted she became distracted upon returning to work and left the infant in a car seat inside her pickup truck.

Authorities say Jones later conducted a headcount of children but did so incorrectly, failing to realize the baby was still outside in the vehicle. The child remained there for more than eight hours.

At the end of the workday, Jones reportedly returned to her truck and found the infant unresponsive. She then brought the child inside the daycare in an attempt to save him.

Arrest, charge, and court proceedings

Following the discovery, homicide detectives were called to the scene and began an investigation. Jones was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, police confirmed.

She later appeared in Little Rock District Court, where she posted a $15,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 9.

The Little Rock Police Department has not publicly released the name of the child.

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