Jania Ashlynn
A father in Alabama has been charged with reckless murder after forgetting to drop his 2-year-old toddler off at daycare. The child died in the car.
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Shawn Rounsavall, 51, rushed his son to the Atmore Community Hospital on February 27th at after 4:30 pm. Medical staff pronounced the child dead shortly after he arrived.
Timeline Of Events
That morning, Rounsavall was under the impression that he had delivered his son to daycare at First Baptist Church, but when he returned to the facility that afternoon to pick up his child, the staff informed him that the child had never been dropped of. That’s when he realized that the boy was still in the back seat of his car.
According to Fox 10 news, Rounsavall did a full shift t a downtown restaurant while the child remained in the car. The boy’s cause of death has yet to be released by authorities.
The Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks has released a statement regarding the incident. “This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. This community is shocked.”
“Because of the reckless … or the disregard for the child, you know, a criminal charge, he was arrested for that particular incident,” Brooks added.
Tributes
The police chief also mentioned how difficult the tragedy has been for his officers.
“As a law enforcement officer, we have to put our personal opinions to the side. Like I said, this has been a hard, hard case to work. My officers have been affected by it, and we will deal with that and get them the help that they need to get past this.”
Rounsavall is currently being held at the Escambia County Detention Center. It is unknown if he has entered any type of plea or if he has retained an attorney.
Tributes have flooded in for the child. Daycare workers who knew him brought roses to the family. The door of the Rounsvall family restaurant has a message of prayer posted on it.
