Shepard, an 11-week-old baby, died under the supervision of an in-home-day-care provider. Doctors found out that the cause of death was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), as the baby was swaddled and placed on an unbuckled car seat on the floor, which blocked his airway and suffocated him.
Reports have it that the in-home-day-care provider did not check him up for two hours. Shepard was left in a closed room, which wouldn't have made it possible for the provider to detect any signs of struggle or danger that the baby was in. When the in-home-day-care provider finally checked on Shepard, he was already blue.
No Charges Filed Against In-Home-Day-Care Provider
Pop Sugar reported that parents, Derek and Ali, wanted to make it known to the world, the plight that Shepard suffered from the hands of the callous in-home-day-care provider. The sad news was that no charges were filed against the provider despite the fact that the baby died while under her supervision.
What makes matters worse was that 10 days before the death of Shepard, the said in-home-day-care provider was warned by the Department of Human Services (DHS) of the risks associated with letting a baby sleep on a car seat, much less swaddled. Despite the warning, the in-home-day-care provider still placed Shepard on the car seat and left him alone in a closed room for two hours, while she chatted and had lunch with a friend.
Positional asphyxiation is the condition that causes death of babies strapped on car seats, bounders and swings, according to The Bump. These "seats" are generally not safe for babies to sleep in for long hours.
Closing Of Facility Not Enough
Although Shepard died in April 2015, the in-home-day-care facility was not shut down immediately. It took months before action was taken against the facility. But as to the woman who placed Shepard on the car seat, there was no charge filed against her as according to the coroner's report, Shepard died from SIDS.
Sleeping On Car Seats
Ali and Derek are now putting their efforts into bringing awareness to many parents of the dangers of allowing baby to sleep on car seats. For them, it's the only way that they can bring justice to the death of their son.
