On Friday, Alabama police arrested a woman who allegedly left a 3-year-old boy to die in her vehicle earlier this month.
Ke’Torrius Starkes Jr. tragically passed away on July 22 after being left inside a stationary car for five hours in Birmingham. AL.com shared that Starkes had been in the care of Kela Stanford, 54, who is a transportation service worker for The Covenant Services and works under a contract with the Department of Human Resources.
Starkes was reportedly left in the vehicle following a pickup from daycare and a supervised visit with his father at a Department of Human Resources building in Bessemer.
Instead of returning Starkes to daycare, Stanford allegedly made stops to purchase food for her family and obtain tobacco before going home, leaving the young child in the car.
@savagegrace76 What Happened? This family will grieve forever. And innocent child lost his life after DHR WORKER forgets him in a hot car in Alabama. #griefandloss #griefjourney #grieftok #grieftok #grief #corruption #childloss #childlossgrief #childlossawareness #justice ♬ original sound – ❌️ §åVåGê🐻🅶🆁🅰🅲🅴
Starkes was reportedly discovered in the car after his foster mother since birth called looking for him.
In a recorded call shared by Starkes father, Stanford allegedly claimed she got “sidetracked” and left his son in the car.
Stanford explained, “I got called and was told I didn’t have a case, so I thought, ‘Well I’m done for the day, I can go home.’ Instead of heading to daycare, I went home. And I forgot he was back there. I am so sorry.”
Before her arrest, Stanford was terminated from her position and now faces charges for leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. She was released after posting a $30,000 bail.
[Feature Photo: Birmingham Police; Facebook]
