Karen Murphy nearly experienced every parent’s worst nightmare in January, when authorities say she briefly left her young son alone in her van when she went to work — until his day care provider called to say he wasn’t there.
In June, the nightmare became reality. According to police and prosecutors, the Bristow, Va., mother left 2-year-old Ryan in the van while she was at her job at a veterinary hospital on a warm June day. When she found the boy in the van seven hours later, he was dead.
Now, like the majority of caregivers responsible for young children who died while left alone in hot vehicles, Murphy is facing criminal charges.
A Prince William County grand jury has indicted her on charges of felony murder and child neglect in Ryan’s June 17 death.
Parents face criminal charges in about 60 percent of such heat-death cases, according to data from the child-safety advocacy group KidsAndCars.org. Nonparent caregivers, such as day care providers, are charged about 80 percent of the time, said Janette Fennell, the group’s president.
Legal and safety experts say charges are most common when there is evidence of past neglect, drug or alcohol use, or other indicators of irresponsibility, such as forgetting about a child while out gambling.
In Murphy’s case, prosecutors said the first incident played a role in bringing charges.
“That’s part of the evidence that was considered by investigators, that was considered by this office,” Prince William Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert said.
Between 1998 and 2003, prosecutors filed charges in similar deaths “in virtually every case where any sort of aggravating factor was present,” a nationwide study by a Wake Forest University Law professor found.
But deciding to do so can be challenging, said Suzanna Tiapula, director of the Alexandria-based National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse.
“There’s always a concern that you’re going to make a terrible situation worse,” she said. “But ultimately, our first responsibility is to do what we can to seek justice for the child.”
Ebert said he hopes prosecuting such cases acts as a deterrent.
“I’m hopeful that maybe these charges will prevent someone else from leaving their child,” he said.
Eighteen children have died from overheating after they were left in vehicles so far this year, said Lorrie Walker, a manager with the safety organization Safe Kids Worldwide. Last year, 49 children died that way.
Walker said cases often involve middle- and upper-class parents who can’t believe they would forget their child and don’t have extra precautions in place.
“These are not people who want to hurt their children,” she said.
Edward MacMahon, Murphy’s attorney, said she is “a wonderful mother and a wonderful person who’s just devastated by what happened.”
