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Texas couple faces charges over child's death

Sukhjit Purewal

A Texas couple could face child endangerment charges in the death of their two-year-old son who managed to get back into the family's automobile while the family prayed at a mosque in blistering temperatures.

The boy, Abdulziz Abufayyod, was pronounced dead about 2am on Monday at Cook Children's Medical Centre in Fort Worth, Arlington police spokeswoman Danetta Chube told rediff.com

Abdulziz was found by relatives on Friday, sweating and unconscious in the back of the car.

The official cause of the boy's death is still pending, since the Arlington police and the Child Protective Services are investigating the matter. "We are investigating the culpability on the part of the parents," Chube said.

The parents have not been identified because neither has been charged with a crime.

Police reported the boy was attending services with his parents and the family's 11-month-old brother at about 2pm. Somehow, Abdulziz managed to get separated from his family and got back into the car, which was unlocked, Chube said. He spent approximately 15 minutes alone in the vehicle.

Although Chube could not verify how warm it was on Friday, she said it had been as hot as 99-101 degrees in the area.

In a separate case, a southern California Muslim woman, Subha Sadaf, 21, was arrested by the Los Angeles police after her two small children were seen sitting alone in her locked van in a grocery store parking lot on June 27. Sadaf is out on $50,000 bail and faces misdemeanour child endangerment charges for leaving her children alone for about half an hour while she shopped.

And just last week, Brian Palmer Gilbert of Santa Clara county was charged with involuntary manslaughter after he inadvertently left his five-month-old son in the car for three hours with the windows rolled up, causing baby Kyle's death.

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