Featured Image Credit: Polk County Sheriff’s Office/Getty Stock Image
Topics: Florida
Callum Jones
A Florida dad has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars after leaving his child 'to die in a hot car'.
Joel Rondon and his wife, Jazmine Rondon, both 34, attended an Independence Day party on 4 July, 2023.
The couple left the party about 2am the next day and returned home, where they forget they had left their daughter, Isabella, in the backseat of their car, Polk County Sheriff's detective stated.
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Det. Sgt. Green said: "His wife had asked him to get their daughter out of the car. After bringing some food items into the house, he noticed the car door was shut and assumed his wife had brought their daughter inside."
Rondon woke up around 10am that day and an hour later noticed his young daughter wasn't in her room, as he later found Isabella's lifeless body in the car.
She was immediately rushed to hospital, with staff at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center treating the young American.
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Isabella's body temperature was measured at 104.4 degrees, as health experts spent hours trying to cool her down.
She eventually succumbed to her condition, with Isabella's cause of death determined to be hypothermia and was ultimately ruled as homicide.
Rondon was arrested following his 18-month-old daughter's death, and later told detectives he had a couple of beers at the 4 July party.
Meanwhile, both parents tested positive for marijuana 17 hours after the party, while Joel was found to have substances of methamphetamines in his body.
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Both parents were detained on 6 July 2023, with Joel seeing his hearing take place on Friday (8 November).
"Every night, like clockwork, the image of my daughter still trapped to her car seat haunts me," Joel said in court.
"The tragedy that would forever change our lives, the ensuing sadness and grief will never allow us to be the same."
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Despite that, Joel was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with Judge Jalal Harb saying: "The most impressive fact of this case is that you decided to go back to the vehicle to retrieve your cigarettes, and you didn’t notice your child was there.
"You failed that child then, or I should say you continued to fail that child."
Jazmine is awaiting her own trial date as she is accused of aggravated manslaughter of a child. She maintains her innocence and is set to appear in court for a pretrial conference on 11 December.
Speaking of Isabella's bond with her father, Jazmine said: "Our daughter, Isabella, loved her father, who she described as a caring man."