Death of Boy Left in Hot Car Ruled a Homicide

An autopsy of the 15-month-old Ridgefield boy who died after being left in a hot car in early July has ruled the death a homicide, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

The official cause of death is listed as hyperthermia due to environmental exposure after the young Benjamin Seitz was left alone in a parked car for most of the day while his father, Kyle Seitz, was at work.

Upon finding the boy in the back seat at the end of the workday, the father reportedly rushed him to Danbury Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ridgefield police had declined to comment on whether criminal charges would be filed, citing the pending autopsy report from the medical examiner.

With the autopsy completed, a police spokesman was not immediately available for comment. However, Capt. Jeffrey Kreitz told WTNH that officers will be discussing the case with the State’s Attorney in Danbury Thursday afternoon before any decisions are made.

The number of children dying from being left in hot cars has been on a steady increase since 1998, when the dangers of passenger-side airbags prompted parents to put their children in the backseat. While a man in Georgia has been accused of purposely leaving his child in the car to die, the vast majority of cases are linked to parents tragically forgetting their children are in the car.

This is reportedly the case with Kyle Seitz, whose wife Lindsey Rogers-Seitz told reporters that she forgives her husband and the family is trying cope as a unit.

Photo Credit: thegiftofben.com