Baby dies after mum 'intentionally left 15-month-old in roasting 36C hot car'

A mum is facing life behind bars after being accused of "intentionally" leaving her 15-month-old baby to die in a sweltering hot car with no air conditioning.

Vanessa Esquivel, 27, has been charged with murder after leaving the child locked inside her car outside her work in Frisco, Texas on August 16 astemperatures climbed to 36C outside.

According to police, Esquivel arrived at work at 2pm, and left her baby in the vehiclewhich "did not have working air conditioning" for over two hours.

Police were alerted to the infant's death after being called to the Medical City Plano hospital and Esquivel was arrested on August 20.

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She was later charged with murder. If convicted, Esquivel faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

A spokesperson from Frisco Police said: "Police officers and detectives with the Frisco Police Department responded to Medical City Plano and upon investigation, they learned that earlier on August 16, the child’s mother, 27-year-old Vanessa Esquivel of Dallas, had arrived at her work in the 3200 block of Preston Road at approximately 2:00 p.m.

"At that time, detectives believe Esquivel intentionally left her 15-month-old child for over two hours in a vehicle she knew did not have working air conditioning with an outside temperature of at least 95 degrees."

"Based on information gathered during the investigation, Frisco Detectives believed probable cause existed that Esquivel had committed Murder, as her intentionally leaving the child in the car caused injury/endangered the child, which is a felony. Because it resulted in the child's death, her actions met the statutory requirements of Murder."

She remained in custody at Collin County Jail on a $250,000 (£184,000) bond at the weekend.

Health officials in the US and the UK have long warned that leaving a child in a hot car is extremely dangerous and can be deadly, even on a mild or cloudy day.

The interior of a car can heats up extremely fast - reaching life-threatening temperatures even when temperatures are cool - and pose a specific health risk to children, as their bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults. Exposure to these hot temperatures can lead to heatstroke, organ damage, or death.

Each year, approximately 38 to 40 children die in the US die from heatstroke after being left in hot vehicles.