A California mom has been charged with the involuntary manslaughter of her 3-year-old daughter after she left the child in a sweltering car while she tended to marijuana plants. Eustajia Mojica Dominguez, 28, left little Jessica Campos alone in the vehicle for hours on June 3, when temperatures neared 100 Fahrenheit. By the time a family member alerted the Visalia Police Department about Jessica, she was no longer breathing.
- Visalia Police tried to revive her with CPR. Thankfully, an officer was in the neighborhood on an unrelated call when the report about Jessica came in and was on the scene “within seconds,” the Visalia Times Delta reports. After attempting to perform CPR on her at the scene, they rushed her to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where she was sadly pronounced dead.
- It’s unclear just how hot it got in the car. However, Kidsandcars.org states that temperatures rise rapidly in closed vehicles and that it could heat up to “125 degrees in minutes.” And, because children’s bodies are so much smaller and less robust than adults, they overheat three to five times faster.
- What was Dominguez doing all that time? Jessica’s mother was indoors taking care for 150 marijuana plants and 475 pounds worth of processed marijuana. While not an ideal situation for a child to be around, given that four other children were discovered inside the house when police arrived, it’s unclear why Jessica was confined to the vehicle. The 15-year-old, an 11-year-old, and two 9-month-olds were put into the care of Child Protective Services. Four adults were also present: 33-year-old Araceli Mojica, 34-year-old Emmanuel Ortiz-Aguilar, 27-year-old Valentin Aguilar Ortiz, and Victor Flores Corona, 41. They were all booked into Tulare County Pretrial Facility on one count of child endangerment.
- She’s now being held responsible for her daughter’s death. Dominguez was also booked into Tulare County Pretrial Facility on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. Her bail was set to $75,000. It’s unclear whether any of the adults involved will also face drugs charges.
