DARRELL SINGLETON - 17 months - (2009) Fort Worth TX

The death of a 17-month-old Arlington boy left in a hot SUV while
his mother worked has been ruled a homicide Monday as the result of
heat stroke by the Tarrant County medical examiners officer.The ruling came in the Sept. 3 death of Darrell Singleton III.Medical
examiner investigators stated that Darrell's death resulted from him
being "left unattended in a motor vehicle during warm weather." His
body temperature was 107 degree when he arrived at the hospital on a
day that reached 96 degrees. The boy's mother, Keashia Dyon
Matthews, was arrested last week on a charge of injury to a child. She
was released over the weekend after posting $13,000 bail, police said.It
will be up to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office to
determine if charges will be upgraded for Matthews, said Tiara Ellis
Richard, Arlington police spokesman.Chris Van Deusen, a
Department of Family and Protective Services spokesman, said Monday
that Matthews' two daughters, ages 5 and 6, remain in foster care and
will likely stay there until the next hearing on Oct. 28 in the 323rd
District Court.Van Deusen said he didn’t know if any relatives
have expressed interest in taking custody of the children. But any
relatives would be subject to a home study before the girls could be
placed with them.Police have said they believe Matthews left the
toddler in her SUV while she worked an eight-hour shift at the Daystar
Television Network studios in Bedford.His temperature had reached 107 degrees by the time he was taken to Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital that afternoon.In
an interview with television station WFAA/Channel 8, Matthews said that
she had not intended to leave her son in the SUV for so long. She told
the station that someone was supposed to come pick him up, but never
arrived.The Star-Telegram has been unable to reach Matthews.Matthews
was investigated by child welfare workers twice in Texas and at least
once in Michigan before her son died, Van Deusen said Friday.Child
welfare officials in Texas began an investigation in May after being
told that Matthews left her three children at home without supervision.But Matthews was allowed to keep her children after she agreed to make sure that they would be cared for while she was at work."That situation was resolved after she agreed to get all three of her children in day care," Van Deusen said.CPS
learned of the neglect complaint after one of the children told
authorities that their mother left them home alone while she went to
work. Matthews also came to the attention of Texas CPS workers
years earlier, after a report of neglect and physical abuse in 2003,
Van Deusen said.CPS found neglect and took custody, but the courts ordered that custody be restored in September 2003, Van Deusen said.Texas
CPS officials were notified in 2003 about a previous investigation in
Michigan that resulted in the removal of Matthews’ older daughter and
her placement with her grandmother, Van Deusen said.Michigan officials did not immediately respond to questions about details of that case.Van Deusen could not retrieve records on any follow-up with Matthews and Texas CPS officials."We’re
looking back at that to see if there was something that could have been
done, that should have been done differently," Van Deusen said.Darrell
was one of at least 31 children nationwide who have died this year
after being left inside a hot car, according to research by San
Francisco State University.

March 18, 1996: Keashia Matthews gives birth to a girl at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit.July 2, 1996:
Detroit police respond to a call and find Keashia Matthews’ 1-year-old
daughter home alone, wearing only a diaper, and "in a very distressed
condition, wet and crying." The child had a severe diaper rash, bruises
and scratches.July 26, 1996: The girl is placed in the custody of her maternal grandmother, Suzette Edwards.Nov. 15, 1996:
After Matthews puts "little effort" into parenting classes and other
options offered by the state, she acknowledges neglecting her daughter,
who is made a temporary ward of the court.Nov. 26, 1996: Matthews gives birth to a second daughter, who is immediately placed with Edwards.Feb. 19, 1997:
The second daughter is also made a temporary ward of the state after a
finding that Matthews had no prenatal care, no income, no home and no
supplies to care for her daughter. She "made no real effort to ... work
toward either child’s return home," the state found.Feb. 5, 1998:
The paternal rights of Matthews and the fathers of the two children are
terminated and both girls are made permanent wards of the state.
Matthews "continued non-compliance with the case plan" is cited.March 17, 2003:
Matthews drives from Little Rock to Irving and gives birth to a third
child, a daughter. The girl is immediately removed from Matthews’ care
due to the removal of the two other children in Michigan. The girl’s
father, Dezury Ashford of Little Rock, says he was unaware that
Matthews had other children until his daughter was removed from her
care in Texas. He said he tried to gain custody at that time.November 2003:
Texas returns the girl to Matthews’ custody. "There is no detail
concerning the conditions of her return to her mother’s care in the
record," according to a Texas document.July 26, 2004: Matthews gives birth to a fourth child, another daughter. The child’s father is last known to be in Atlanta.2006: Matthews
meets Darrell Singleton Jr. at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock,
Ark. She works in the school’s financial aid office.March 28, 2008: Matthews gives birth to a fifth child, Darrell Singleton III.January 2009: Matthews and her three youngest children move to Arlington.March 31, 2009:
Matthews and her children, now 6, 4 and 1, are staying at a family
violence shelter in Arlington. Child welfare officials investigate
reports that she has been seen hitting the girls within the past month.
Two days before, she had been seen hitting the 4-year-old with a shoe,
the report says.May 12, 2009: The 6-year-old
tells CPS workers that her mother had left her home alone because she
was sick and missed school and her mother had to work. A CPS report
says the case was closed after Matthews agreed not to use physical
discipline and the children were enrolled in day care.Sept. 2, 2009:
Matthews leaves Darrell in the care of a woman she met at the women’s
shelter, who leaves Darrell alone in Matthews’ apartment for an unknown
period of time.Sept. 3, 2009: Matthews drives a
Ford Expedition to her temporary job at Daystar Television Network in
Bedford, arriving about 7 a.m. She leaves 17-month-old Darrell buckled
in the car until 3 p.m., as the outside temperature climbs to 96
degrees. After picking up her daughters from school, she drives her son
to Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, where his temperature is
measured as 107.5 degrees. He is pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m. Matthews
initially denies leaving him in the vehicle.Sept. 4, 2009: Texas CPS seeks custody of Matthews’ two daughters.Oct. 1, 2009:
Matthews is arrested and booked into the Tarrant County Jail on a
charge of injury to a child. She posts $13,000 bond and is released.Oct. 5, 2009:
Darrell’s death is ruled a homicide by the Tarrant County medical
examiner. His death was caused by heat stroke due to "being left
unattended in a motor vehicle during warm weather," the medical
examiner said.Oct. 6, 2009: Tarrant County
prosecutor Kimberly D’Avignon says it will be up to the grand jury
whether to upgrade the injury to a child charge to homicide.

Arlington Mom Who Left Child in Hot SUV Faces 40 Years in Prison
Mom Went to Work, Left Child Behind

Published : Thursday, 17 Feb 2011, 11:55 AM CST

FORT WORTH, Texas - An Arlington mother who left her child in a hot SUV while she worked is facing 40 years behind bars.

Keashia Matthews pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of injury to a child in the death of her 17-month-old son, Darrell Singleton III.

She left the child unattended for hours in an SUV on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, while at a job at a Christian television station in Bedford, according to court documents. The high temperature that day was 96 degrees.

Matthews told police she realized something was wrong with the child when she left work. Matthews then drove to pick up her two daughters from school then went to the hospital, according to police reports. The child had a temperature of 107 degrees and could not be saved.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled that the child’s death was caused by a heat stroke and was a homicide, according to published reports.

Prosecutors asked jurors to sentence Matthews to 40 years behind bars. Yet, Matthews’ attorney asked the panel to grant probation so that the 38-year-old woman could receive professional help.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/02172011-Arlington-Mom-Who-Left-Child-in-Hot-SUV-Faces-40-Years-in-Prison-