Texas Mom Charged in Deaths of Toddlers Left in Hot Car to 'Teach a Lesson'

A 25-year-old mother has been charged in the deaths of her two children, after she allegedly left them in a hot car as punishment.

This is a photo of Texas Mom.
Getty

Image via Parker County Sheriff’s Office

This is a photo of Texas Mom.

A 24-year-old North Texas mother was charged Friday in the deaths of her two young children, whom she allegedly left inside a locked, hot car as a form of punishment.

According to CBS News, Cynthia Marie Randolph is facing two first-degree felony counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. The charges come nearly a month after she discovered her 2-year-old daughter Juliet Ramirez and 16-month-old son Cavanaugh Ramirez unresponsive inside her vehicle, on a day when temperatures reached the mid-90s.

Randolph’s story has changed since the May 26 tragedy. She initially told authorities she was folding laundry and watching TV as the children played on an enclosed porch. When she realized they were no longer there, she began searching and eventually located them inside the vehicle in front of her rural home. Randolph said the door was locked so she broke a window to gain entry. She also claimed the children couldn’t have been in the vehicle for “no more than an hour.”

After several interviews with investigators, however, the mother’s account began to change. She later told authorities she had found the children playing in the car and began screaming at the daughter, demanding her to get out. When the 2-year-old refused, Randolph said she shut the car door to teach the toddler a lesson, believing she would get her and her brother out when she was ready.

Randolph admitted she went back into the house, smoked marijuana, and fell asleep for two to three hours. After she found her children unresponsive, she called the authorities, who arrived on the scene at around 4 p.m. Her daughter and son were declared dead at 4:33 p.m.

According to police statements, Randolph broke the window before police arrived to make the deaths look like an accident. She was booked into the Parker Country Jail on Friday. Bail has not yet been set.

Latest in Life