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The cause of the boy's death on July 7 was "hyperthermia due
to environmental exposure," the chief state medical examiner's
office said, ruling the death as a homicide in August.
Kyle Seitz, who faces up to a year in jail if convicted, has
said he forgot he had the toddler in the back seat when he
arrived at his workplace. The boy spent the entire workday
locked in the car when outside temperatures climbed to nearly 88
degrees.
Even in relatively cool weather, the temperature inside vehicles
can rise rapidly on sunny days, putting infants at risk for
hyperthermia, according to a study published in the medical
journal Pediatrics.
The Connecticut case is one of a series in which children have
died after being left in cars by their parents on hot summer
days. All told, 30 children died of heat stroke in the United
States this year after being left in hot cars, according to San
Jose State University.
Perhaps the best-known case this year was in Georgia, where
Justin Ross Harris has been indicted on eight counts, including
murder, in the death of his young son in June.
Seitz, 36, is still under order to remain in Connecticut until
his next appearance in Superior Court in Danbury on Dec. 16, his
lawyer John Gulash said.
(Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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