Baby boy found dead after being left in SUV for hours
MACEDONIA, Ohio -- An 8-month-old baby boy was found dead in the parking lot of a northeast Ohio Walmart after being left in a vehicle for hours, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators say a man taking the boy and three other children to day care around 8 a.m. Wednesday apparently forgot the baby in the third row of seats in a sport utility vehicle, and the child's grandmother didn't realize he was still there when she drove the SUV to work at the Macedonia Walmart around 11 a.m.
She found the unresponsive boy hours later, and police were called around 5:30 p.m., according to a statement from the Summit County medical examiner. That office identified the boy as Jayce Markell Benjamin from Garfield Heights.
Police don't believe he was harmed intentionally. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday.
CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO-TV reports that, according to police, the baby's mother realized her son was not where he was supposed to be when only three of the children were brought home from day care.
The mother then called the grandmother, who checked the vehicle and discovered the boy, WOIO-TV reports.
"It's a very difficult thing. ... We're all shocked, it's a tragedy," Macedonia police Lt. Vince Yakopovich said, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Initial information from police didn't specify whether the infant is related to the man who took the children to day care.