JAMISON GRAY - 3 months (8/2013)/ Convicted: Daniel Gray, father - Phoenix, AZ

3-month-old boy dies after father 'leaves him in boiling car on 100F day for over an hour to smoke marijuana with co-workers'

A Phoenix father has been charged with manslaughter and child abuse for allegedly leaving his 3-month-old son to bake in a hot car while he smoked marijuana with co-workers.  

It over 100 degrees at midday on Wednesday when 31-year-old father Daniel Gray left his infant son Jamison in the car outside of his work.

Gray says he was checking in at the sports bar where he works as a kitchen manager, when he lost track of time.


Tragic accident: Daniel Gray, left, is being charged with manslaughter and child abuse after his 3-month-old son Jamison, right, died Wednesday from hyperthermia in a hot parked car

By the time he realized he left Jamison in the car, it was too late and the infant couldn't be revived.

Usually prosecutors have a hard time punishing the parents who lose their children this way.

'There are circumstances where we look at the situation and have to determine that even the most attentive parent might have made a similar decision that again resulted in a horrific accident,' Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery told Fox 10.


Mistake: 3-month-old Jamison died from exposure after his father left him in a parked car to check in at work on an over 100-degree day


His story: Gray says he was checking in on the sports pub where he works as a kitchen manager when he left Jamison in the car and lost track of time. But authorities believe he was actually smoking marijuana with coworkers for over an hour


Charged: Gray was arrested Thursday and charged with manslaughter and child abuse. Above, he is seen returning to the sports bar to retrieve his car


Crime scene: Gray left baby Jamison in his gold Oldsmobile, pictured above. By the time the father remembered him, Jamison couldn't be saved

However, police suspect that it wasn't just that he lost track of time. According to police spokesman Sgt Tommy Thompson, they believe that he was smoking marijuana with a coworker at the time.

Gray was arrested Thursday night on charges of manslaughter and child abuse.


Mourning: According to a blog post by Jamison's aunt, the boy's mother has taken time off work to mourn her son's early death

While Gray faces legal ramifications for his actions, the rest of the family mourns the loss of newborn Jamison.

Jamison was born this past May 28. According to a post on his aunt's blog, Jamison's mother is currently taking time off from work to deal with the tragic loss.

'Our family is beyond devastated,' the aunt wrote. 'There are no words to describe the pain and heartache we are experiecing.'  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2406797/Baby-Jamison-Gray-dies-hot-car-father-leaves-smoke-marijuana.html?ico=ushome^editors_choice_six_of_the_best

When I first read about this I thought it was just forgetting the child is in the car.  This happens all too often.  Over 20 kids are dead this year alone.  But to read that he was smoking pot while his little angel was dying just breaks my heart.  To take his pleasure over the life of the little one is just too much.  He should pay with his life.  Just look at that little angel.  I could pick him up and love him in a heart beat even being a step son.  Too many little angels are dying because of bad parents.  If you have kids please go to http://www.kidsandcars.org/ and read some of the stories.  They have a great number of tips to keep your angels safe around cars.  William

Dad whose infant son died in hot car sentenced

Posted: Aug 30, 2013 7:10 AM CDT
Updated: Jun 20, 2014 12:36 PM CDT
By Steve Stout

PHOENIX (CBS5) - A Valley father whose 3-month-old son died locked in a hot car in the torrid summer heat has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Judge Dawn Bergin sentenced Daniel Bryan Gray, 31, on Friday for manslaughter and child abuse, according to a spokesperson from Maricopa County Superior Court. He was also given seven years of supervised probation.

Gray had pleaded guilty to the charges.

Phoenix police said Gray smoked marijuana with another person and lost track of time while his son, Jamison Gray, sat in the hot car for about an hour outside of BT's Sports Pub near Scottsdale and Thunderbird roads, Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said.

Gray took the unresponsive child into the bar, where he was a kitchen manager, and called 911 just before noon, Thompson said.

Gray and the first officer to arrive at the scene tried to revive the child before an ambulance arrived, Thompson said.

Gray initially told police he stopped at the bar to check on the business and that he got distracted, but investigators later developed information that led them to believe he and a companion were smoking marijuana while the child sat alone in the car, Thompson said.

The temperature at nearby Scottsdale Airport was 102 degrees at noon. The baby's core temperature was 107 degrees, police said.

A relative of Jamison established a memorial fund in his name at themamacurd.blog.com.

http://meredith.worldnow.com/story/23298326/dad-whose-infant-son-died-in-hot-car-sentenced