Left to right: Sintia Perez and Jace Hirschy (Adams County Sheriff’s Office).
Two Indiana parents are behind bars after their toddler died in a closet warmed by a space heater late last month, Hoosier State police say.
Sintia Perez, 21, and Jace Hirschy, 23, each face one count of neglect resulting in death and two counts of neglect of a dependent.
The fatal incident occurred sometime between the night of Nov. 26 and the afternoon of Nov. 27, according to the Berne Police Department.
At around 3:30 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving, officers responded to the Swiss Meadows apartment complex in Berne — a small town some 35 miles south of Fort Wayne.
An officer described a state of disrepair inside the home, according to court documents obtained by Fort Wayne-based ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV affiliate WPTA and CBS affiliate WANE.
Every room inside the unit was said to be filled with garbage, making it difficult to navigate inside. Police also said they found a pot on the stove with mold and flies inside. In the sink, the dishes were piled up and dirty, officers said. There were also allegedly cockroaches in the residence.
Bedrooms allegedly fared no better; blankets and bedding in the residence were said to be filthy — particularly the young victim’s.
One officer described the mattress of the crib where the deceased 2-year-old was found as “very soiled” and noted the presence of a soiled diaper nearby and feces in a corner of the closet.
When making his way into the closet, one officer wrote in an affidavit that he “felt an immediate heat difference from the main bedroom to the interior of the closet.”
Police say the overall temperature of the apartment and some surfaces inside ranged from some 84 degrees to a sweltering 109 degrees.
Investigators checked the temperature of the girl’s body, according to police. Her chest was 109.4 degrees; her forehead was 108.8 degrees. An autopsy later confirmed that she died of hyperthermia — overheating.
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Daddy is so bad’: Mom, boyfriend arrested after boy, 2, suffers brain bleed, burns on his feet and bruises on entire body, cops say
During an interview, the girl’s mother allegedly said she put the child to bed at around 7 p.m. the night before, turned on a space heater, and closed the door most of the way. Perez allegedly admitted to waking up late the next day — at around 12: 30 p.m. — and went on to say that neither parent checked on the small child until after 3 p.m.
The girl also had a discolored body, police say — describing her head as “darkly discolored.”
Two other children lived in the residence. A 3-year-old and a 5-year-old were allegedly found suffering from lice infestations and described as suffering under “extremely unhealthy” living conditions. They are now in the custody of the Department of Child Services.
Both Perez and Hirschy were arrested on the spot. They appeared in court together for the first time this week.
The defendants are currently being detained in the Adams County Jail. Perez and Hirschy are slated to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Feb. 14, 2025; a jury trial is scheduled for March 7, 2025.
