Toddler dies after being left in hot car ‘by her drunk dad’ for nine hours

Caption: Joseph Boatman (Pictures: St Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)

A young girl was discovered dead in a hot car after her father allegedly got drunk and left her inside.

Joseph Boatman, 32, is accused of leaving his 21-month-old daughter strapped to her carseat inside a vehicle outside a home in the Madisonville area of Louisiana.

A family member found the toddler unresponsive in the car just before midday on Sunday, according to the St Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

‘This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face,’ stated Sheriff Randy Smith.

‘When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes.

‘This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking,’ Smith said.

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