Mother jailed for 40 years for leaving kids to die in hot car
- IndiaGlitz, [Tuesday,December 18 2018]
A Texas mother was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Wednesday after she left her children to die in a hot car while she was partying and smoking marijuana.
The incident happened on the evening of June 16, 2017, when Amanda Hawkins (then 19) partied at a friend’s place, leaving her 1- and 2-year-old daughters in her car overnight. They had spent nearly 15 hours in the car without food or water, where the temperature had gone up to 32˚C.
A 16-year-old, who was also present at the party, went to sleep in Hawkins' car with the girls, according to the police. Kevin Fenke woke up at 8 AM and allegedly rolled up the windows before turning the car off and leaving the party. He is also charged in the girls’ death with two counts of first-degree murder.
Hawkins retrieved the girls from the car the following afternoon and bathed them in cold water in a futile attempt to save them. She took them to a hospital later and claimed that they had collapsed after smelling flowers at a nearby lake.
However, in September, Hawkins pleaded guilty to two counts of child abandonment and endangerment, and two counts of injury to a child. She received two 20-year sentences to be served consecutively, one for each daughter’s case.