Stories about young children being left in hot cars increase in the summer. Leaving the windows closed in a car makes the temperature rise quickly. This only gets worse when it’s also incredibly hot outside. On a summer day, it can be over 100 degrees inside.
That’s why stories like this one are just unbelievalble: A Florida mom has been arrested after locking her toddler in a car and then going to casually watch a movie. Basically, for Tipora Merriex, being left in a hot car was a form of punishment for her little one. And while the child sat alone in the hot car, the woman enjoyed the cool air conditioning of a movie theater. It seems like she’ll be getting a punishment of her own soon.
Police were called to Regal Cinema 90 in Lake County, Florida, on July 19 at 5:49 p.m., the Lake City Police Department said in a release. When officers arrived, they found a 2-year-old “visibly distressed inside” of a car. Officers broke the driver’s side window to rescue the child, who was “flushed, sweating, and crying.”
They learned that the girl had been taken to see the new Smurfs movie with her mother, 18-year-old Tipora Merriex. Merriex’s two younger siblings also joined them. The toddler made “multiple disruptions” during the film, prompting the young mom to remove the child from the theater a few times.
Action News Jax reported that Merriex alleged she accidentally locked her daughter in the car. However, witnesses claim the mom closed the car door. They also said they saw her going back and forth between the car and the movie theater several times.
Crime news website Law & Crime obtained copies of the arrest report. In an interview with Merriex’s husband, he claimed she “had a history of very un-rational decision making when it came to her dealing with their daughter’s crying.” He also said she struggles to have “patience” with the toddler. She also has “negative reactions to stress related to being a parent,” he alleged.
According to police, it was 94 degrees outside, with a heat index of 107 degrees.
“Our officers acted swiftly to ensure the safety of this young child,” Chief of Police Gerald Butler said in the statement. “Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable. We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritize the well-being of their children at all times.”
Tipora Merriex was arrested and charged with neglect of a child without great bodily harm. She was taken to the Columbia County Detention Center.
