41-year-old Tiffany Huff Holmes, an Iowa mother, turned herself in to the Polk County Jail on Sunday for causing the death of her 3-year-old child back on June 28. She is now “facing a charge of child endangerment resulting in death, court records show. The incident occurred on June 28 at a home in the 24000 block of Hawthorn Drive in Bondurant, near Des Moines, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said, according to Law & Crime.
According to a criminal complaint, Tiffany left the kid “knowingly” in the garage “for a period of time that resulted in hyperthermia, causing death.” Moreover, she was the sole caregiver of the child and was also dealing with alcoholism. At the time of the unfortunate incident, no one else was present.
Tiffany had allegedly left the kid in a hot garage on a day when the temperature went up to almost the low 90s. This caused the child to overheat, and he died. Taylor reportedly told the authorities that she took a nap after placing her son in the garage, but she could not remember how long she slept.
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According to the search warrant, when Taylor finally woke up and went back to the garage, she found the child “extremely sweaty,” and his lips had turned blue. He was very “hot to the touch,” which further established how overheating had played a major role in the child’s death.
Taylor waited for some 5-10 minutes more to call 911. She was asked by the dispatchers to take the boy inside the house and perform CPR on him, but it failed to give any results. After cops rushed to the scene, more attempts at reviving the child were made, but they all failed, leading to the paramedics declaring him dead.
There was an empty bottle of vodka found in her home, which she claimed to have consumed after discovering her son had died, not before. Taylor’s husband and the kid’s father were also informed of this incident, and as per the warrant, he claimed that the child could not go to the garage by himself.
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He added that the baby could neither open the doors by himself, as it was broken, and had to be lifted to enter. This meant that he was put inside the garage by his mother, Taylor. The father also mentioned that Taylor had been dealing with alcohol issues for the last five years, and drinking at home was prohibited for her.
As Taylor turned herself in, she is now held on a $1 million bond. Her next date of hearing has been scheduled for January 2. The incident highlights how alcoholism and other addiction issues can blur one’s judgment and how they can affect parenting with fatal consequences.
