DALLAS, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- A grand jury Thursday indicted the Dallas parents of a mentally retarded boy who died after he was left buckled in a hot car outside their home last June.
Michel and Marjorie Borg were charged by a Dallas County grand jury with reckless injury to a child in the death of Michel Borg Jr. A conviction could mean up to 20 years in prison.
The 23-month-old boy with Down syndrome died from hyperthermia after sitting in the family car for two hours, according to the medical examiner. The outside temperature was 93 degrees on that day, according to a police report.
Marjorie Borg began looking for the child two hours after they arrived home from a pool party and found the boy inside the vehicle, unconscious and still in the safety seat, police said. She called 911 and the boy was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the couple made repeated trips to the car to get beach towels and were grilling food in the backyard while the boy was in the car. They alleged the couple was reckless for leaving the boy in the car so long on a hot summer day. Medical investigators ruled the death accidental.
State Child Protective Services officials asked a judge to remove three other children from the Borgs after the death, but the judge ruled they would receive the best care at home. The judge did order the couple to undergo counseling and provide more adult supervision.
