BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Two parents were arrested after their 1-year-old child was left alone in a vehicle for over two hours and later died from heat-related injuries, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Shavetta Leandra Combs, 27, and Aaron Michael Combs, 27, were both charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury or death, BCSO said.
They were booked into the Bexar County jail on separate $60,000 bonds, according to court records.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the child on Friday as Ari’yanna Sanora Combs.
According to the sheriff’s office, Shavetta and Aaron took Ari’yanna to pick up two other siblings from school. However, they forgot Ari’yanna in the car when they returned home.
During a Friday press conference, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said that Shavetta went inside to take a nap, and Aaron began playing video games.
One of the siblings began searching for Ari’yanna after noticing she was not around approximately two hours later.
Ari’yanna was later removed from the vehicle and brought inside the home by Shavetta and Aaron, BCSO said. Salazar stated that the temperature inside the car was around 140 to 150 degrees.
The sheriff’s office stated that Shavetta called 911 to report that Ari’yanna was unresponsive. When deputies arrived on the scene, EMS attempted to save the child’s life.
BCSO said that Ari’yanna was later pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. on Thursday.
Evidence indicated that Ari’yanna was left unattended in the vehicle for longer than two hours before she was removed, deputies stated.
Shavetta and Aaron were taken into custody after they were both interviewed, BCSO said.
“In this instance, the evidence gathered at the scene indicated how long the child was left in the vehicle. Along with the statements obtained from both parents, investigators established probable cause for the arrest in this case,” BCSO said in a Friday statement regarding the parents’ arrest.
According to Salazar, Shavetta admitted to investigators that she used CBD in the days before Ari’yanna’s death and had also consumed alcohol recently.
The other two siblings have been placed with their grandparents, BCSO said.
More recent crime coverage on KSAT