Lindsay Hoffmann: Woman Leaves Infant In Freezing Car For Shocking Reason

There is never an acceptable reason to leave an infant in a freezing car, but the reason why Lindsay Hoffman left her two-week-old son in a freezing car is shocking.

On Wednesday night, Lindsay Hoffman, 26, entered a store called VIP, which stands for Very Intimate Pleasures. VIP is a sex store, specializing in adult novelties. Hoffman first entered the store with Marquette Riggsbee, 54, and her infant son. Store employees, however, turned the trio away because children are not allowed inside the premises.

The three left, but then Hoffman and Riggsbee returned a short time later, without the infant. Suspicious, employees of VIP ran outside, where they saw the baby, alone, inside a car. It was below freezing temperatures outside, and the infant was clad only in a onesie.

Police were immediately called.

District manager for VIP Tina Marchese told WFSB TV that the cavalier attitude Hoffman and Riggsbee displayed toward the infant was shocking. She said that the two continued to look over items in the shop, even after being told that police had been notified and were on their way to the location. The infant was left alone in the freezing car for about twenty minutes.

“[The baby] was not dressed for winter. He was just in a normal onesie, no hat, hands exposed,” Marchese said in an interview. “It really affected us because we are all mothers so it was a really sad thing for the baby.”

When police arrived, they noted that the temperature outside was 29 degrees, and that the car was not running. Police also noted that, fortunately, the internal temperature of the infant was still normal, but his hands and feet were extremely cold. The infant was examined by ambulance staff, and then taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

“The infant’s core temperature was found to be adequate, but it did have cold extremities,” police said in a statement on Wednesday.

The infant is now in the custody of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families.

Hoffman and Riggsbee were both arrested, and charged with risk of injury to a minor and leaving a child unsupervised. Both are being held on a $25,000 bond, with a pending court appearance on Thursday.

Both Hoffman and Riggsbee have prior criminal records. Lindsay Hoffman was convicted of prostitution in 2013. Riggsbee, who is described simply as her “companion,” was convicted of resisting arrest in 2013, as well.

Parents in Washington, D.C. were recently arrested for leaving their baby in a car for an equally shocking reason. For more on that story, click here.