A 1-month-old baby is dead, and his mother is in police custody, charged with first-degree murder and endangering the health and life of a child. Andrea Luncsford, 25, allegedly left her infant son, Grayson Eastwood, alone in a car outside a home in Peoria, Illinois, on September 16. Police arrived at the home around 7 p.m. after receiving a call about a deceased baby. It appears the baby had been inside the car for several hours before he was discovered.
According to KBTX, Grayson’s grandfather discovered him inside a pickup truck and placed him in the yard, where first responders found him a short time later. It seems Grayson’s grandfather wanted his daughter to bring him the baby to care for, but tragically she didn’t respond.
More from CafeMom: Michigan Woman Accused of Killing Girlfriend’s 4-Month-Old Baby While She Was Working
It was very hot the day Grayson died.
According to AccuWeather, temperatures reached a high of 89 degrees in Peoria on the day the baby died. Per WCBU, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood performed an autopsy and determined Grayson had been left in the hot car for an “extended period” of time without food or water. Harwood arrived on the scene around 7:38 p.m. and determined Grayson had been dead for “quite some time” by the time he arrived.
Per documents obtained by Fox 2, Luncsford’s father sent her a text message before the baby’s death urging her to bring Grayson to him. “You know that baby can overheat and die, please let us help you, from dad to mom,” he reportedly texted her.
Harwood called the conditions dangerous.
According to the coroner, leaving an infant in a car without air conditioning for any amount of time is dangerous.
“We’ve talked about safe sleep and the safe sleep suffocations that are preventable,” he told WCBU. “This, too is a preventable death. When you have an infant or a kid in a car for any amount of time in this heat, the outcome is going to be as it is right now today, which is we have the death of a 1-month-old who has died because they were in a car with no air conditioning, no ventilation, no nutrition, no hydration.”
It is more dangerous for an infant in higher temperatures than an adult.
WCBU reported that when the vehicle’s air conditioning is off, the interior can be 20 to 30 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. Harwood said those conditions can be deadly.
“We have to remember … not even just an infant, [but] even an adult would suffer hyperthermia and dehydration,” Harwood explained. “It’s going to happen a lot faster for an infant, unfortunately, because of body surface area and the makeup of their bodies and how fragile they are in their infancy anyway.”
The baby's father died less than two weeks before his son.
Per his obituary, Michael D. Eastwood Jr. died on September 6, at Mount Sinai Hospital. His cause of death was not listed, but according to comments on Andrea Luncsford’s Facebook page, he may have died from a drug overdose.
The mother posted a picture of the father and son together on September 7, with the caption, “I can’t believe you’re gone Michael. My heart is hurting so bad. We miss you so much…. I can’t keep myself together rn. We need you. God. We need you.” Eastwood’s funeral was on September 14. Grayson died just two days later.
More from CafeMom: Teen Dies of Fentanyl Poisoning, So His Friends Become Anti-Overdose Activists
Lunscford has a violent criminal record.
Per KBTX, Luncsford has a criminal record dating back to 2019. She reportedly was charged with aggravated battery of a peace officer on three occasions.
According to Fox 2, when Luncsford appeared in court via video conference, she cried loudly, and a judge reminded her to maintain her decorum. If convicted, the mother could face up to 100 years in prison due to the age of her son.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
