Mother arrested in Suffolk baby death investigation
Suffolk police said the infant had been left inside a car
for an unknown amount of time.
SUFFOLK, Va. — Suffolk
police say they have arrested a mother in connection to an
infant death investigation.
On the afternoon of May 9,
police said a mother brought her 5-month-old baby boy to a
hospital, who was then pronounced dead. Suffolk police
investigating the death determined the infant had been left
inside a car for up to eight hours.
Police said the
mother, 21-year-old Taina Sanford of Elizabeth City, had
purposely left the child alone in her car while she worked.
According to court documents obtained by 13News Now, Sanford
allegedly told police different versions of what happened on May
9.
At first, she allegedly told detectives that she never
left her son alone in a hot car. Sanford said she did not go to
work because of car issues and spent the day with her child.
Police said she later changed her story and said she did go
to work. Sanford said she clocked in but worked remotely from
her car with her child right next to her.
However,
Suffolk police said they have evidence that tells a different
story.
Investigators said they have surveillance video
showing Sanford arriving at work and leaving her child behind in
her car for several hours. They believe she went inside at 7
a.m. and left at 2:30 p.m.
Sanford brought the
5-month-old boy to the hospital at 3 p.m. and the child later
died at Bon Secours Hospital.
Sanford was arrested and
charged with murder, child abuse, and child endangerment on
Wednesday. She is currently being held without bond at Western
Tidewater Regional Jail.
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“Any time there’s a loss of a child, it’s just a very tragic event no
matter if it’s by natural means or by accident or by some other means,” he
said.