A 26-year-old North Carolina mom was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter after her 5-month-old, who she allegedly left in a car for hours, died.
Police were called to a home in Statesville, about 40 miles north of Charlotte, on Sunday for a 5-month-old in respiratory distress, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a statement.
When deputies arrived, Troutman Fire and Iredell County EMS were already on scene, Campbell said. The child was pronounced dead at the home.
An autopsy performed on the baby Tuesday found that the cause of death was environmental hyperthermia.
The baby's mother, Madison Cassidy Moore, told authorities she had left the child in a car seat in her car for several hours Sunday, according to a police statement.
Moore was arrested Thursday and charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, police said.
She is being held at the Iredell County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond, Campbell said. It is unclear if she has a lawyer.
