Alabama mom faces death penalty for son’s hot car death
Published 2:43 pm Friday, December 27, 2019
An Alabama woman faces a potential death penalty after being indicted on a capital murder charge in the death of her son, who was left in a hot car for hours.
Court records show Elizabeth Anne Case, 36, of Toney is accused of leaving 13-month-old Casen Caine Case in a car for about seven hours.
He was pronounced dead after being found in a parked vehicle the afternoon of Oct. 5, when the high temperature was in the mid-90s.
Case was initially charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse, but a Limestone County grand jury returned the more serious charge after hearing evidence, District Attorney Brian Jones told The News Courier.
An attorney for Case didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment Friday.
Case remains in jail without bond. If convicted of capital murder, she could be sentenced to death or life without parole.
Limestone County sheriff’s authorities said Case left home with the 13-month-old boy on a Friday night to go look through trash dumpsters for salvageable items.
She left the child in the car when she returned home around 5:40 a.m. the next day.
Case went to sleep and awoke around 1:30 p.m. Saturday when her mother arrived, and they found the boy still in the car. Case put the child in the shower in an attempt to cool him off, and her mother called 911.
The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.