A 7-month-old North Carolina girl died in Hamlet Monday, and her foster mother now faces charges for allegedly leaving her in a hot minivan.
At around 6 p.m. on Monday, police were called to a residence on Charlotte Street, where they found a baby unresponsive, as reported by News Channel 9. The court documents revealed that the child later succumbed to excessive heat at the hospital.
The foster mother, Djuna Bostick, now faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligent child abuse.
Hamlet police haven’t revealed how long the child was inside the minivan, but temperatures on Monday were around 90 degrees.
Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University, mentioned that this incident is noted as the “6th Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) death nationwide in 2025, and the first in North Carolina.”
“Since 1998, North Carolina has seen 42 PVH deaths, contributing to a total of 1016 across the United States. As of this date last year, there had been four such fatalities,” stated Null in an email to CrimeOnline.
The Richmond Observer reports that Bostick is behind bars at the Richmond County Jail on a $500,000 secured bond.
Her first court appearance is scheduled for June 23.
Meanwhile, Hamlet police told News Channel 9 that the investigation is ongoing.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo via Hamlet PD]
