VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, a man from Ormond Beach is now facing a first-degree murder charge following the death of his 18-month-old son in a hot vehicle.
A grand jury has indicted 33-year-old Scott Gardner on charges of first-degree murder, along with aggravated child abuse and child neglect leading to severe harm, as confirmed by the sheriff’s office on Wednesday.
Gardner is accused of leaving his son, Sebastian, in the truck for over three hours on June 6.
Deputies said during that time, Gardner got a haircut and went drinking at Hanky Panky’s Lounge.
According to investigators, Gardner later provided several false accounts of what happened that day.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Gardner was in the lounge for nearly three hours.
“For two hours and 40 minutes, the little boy was inside the car,” Sheriff Chitwood stated at a news conference. “Gardner claims the windows were down, but that’s a lie, with only a small battery-operated fan blowing on the child.”
Gardner called 911 on his way home. Chitwood said hours after the child was pronounced dead, Gardner then went back to the bar.
“He picks up his mother and they go back to Hanky Panky’s for a few more cocktails,” Chitwood said. “I don’t think there’s a penalty on this Earth that could ever fit for the crime that was committed here. It absolutely shocks the conscience for this to even happen.”
Gardner initially faced charges of child neglect and aggravated manslaughter of a child.
He remains in jail without bond.
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