Couple Faces Charges After Toddler Found Dead

Perez told officers she placed the child in the closet with a space heater at 7 p.m. the night before and didn’t check on her until after 3 p.m

Source: (Photo by David Pralh/Getty Images.)

BERNE, IND — A couple in Berne, Sintia Perez and Jace Hirschy, appeared in court Wednesday on charges of neglect after their two-year-old was found dead in a room with temperatures reaching 109 degrees.

The couple faces charges, including a Level 1 Felony for neglect resulting in death and two Level 6 Felony charges for neglect. They were arrested on November 27 after police responded to a death investigation at Swiss Meadows Apartments.

Court documents describe the home in poor condition, with trash, cockroaches, and moldy food on the stove. In a bedroom closet, officers found a soiled mattress where the child slept. Temperatures in the closet ranged from 85 to 109 degrees. The child was found in a soiled diaper, and an autopsy confirmed hyperthermia as the cause of death, with a recorded body temperature of 109.4 degrees.

Perez told officers she placed the child in the closet with a space heater at 7 p.m. the night before and didn’t check on her until after 3 p.m. the next day. Two other children, who had lice, were taken into custody by child services.