Every summer, we hear an increased amount of stories about children dying in hot cars. These deaths spike in the summer due to extreme temperatures outside. Pair the extreme heat with neglectful adults, and innocent children will lose their lives. A little girl from Pennsylvania recently died in Maine after her mother, Kelly Brown, reportedly left her in a hot car. Brown, who allegedly had been exhibiting strange behavior before her daughter’s death, locked the girl and their family dog in her car and disappeared for hours.
Brown, who lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania, was visiting Maine with her 3-year-old daughter, Fiona, and their 13-year-old dog, Penelope, News Center Maine reported. They were supposed to be visiting family, but after several days of no contact, Brown’s mother went to police to report them missing.
On the evening of August 9, 2025, police found the woman’s car in a gas station parking lot in Milford. According to court documents, officers saw the girl and the dog and broke the car’s window to get to them.
Unfortunately, both already were dead. Police said they found no additional signs that could lead them to believe the girl and dog died of anything other than heat exposure.
Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the parking lot that reportedly showed the mother leaving her car just before 6 a.m. The footage also showed that she didn’t return until nearly 8:30 p.m. When she arrived, emergency responders were already on the scene.
Brown told police that she and her daughter had been camping in the area. She “noticed a lot of trash” and wanted to teach her daughter about cleaning up, NBC Philadelphia reported. The woman claimed they cleaned up the parking lot “because it was such a mess.”
She claimed to have left Fiona and Penelope in the car while she went to get a trash bag. Somehow she ended up in a wooded area. While there, she told police that she tripped and fell down an embankment, landing in the Penobscot River. Suddenly, she was swept away, unable to return to the car.
Police noted her clothes were dry, but she told them she had dried off since her fall into the river. When Brown’s mother reported her missing, she also mentioned that the woman had been making suspicious social media posts.
During her interview with police, Brown claimed she was “seeing spirits.” She also said she was hearing voices and they were controlling her.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy on Fiona Brown’s body on August 11, WCVB reported. Although the deputy chief medical examiner said more studies are needed to determine the cause and manner of death, some information was released. The symptoms in the toddler point to hyperthermia, which is an elevated body temperature and likely her cause of death.
Around 5 a.m. August 10, authorities in Maine arrested Brown. The next day, she appeared in court. The mother was charged with manslaughter in her daughter’s death and is being held on a $50,000 bond. If she makes bail, she has been ordered to stay away from children younger than 18.
