A man who forgot about his 23 month old child in the back of his car in Sevilla which resulted in the death of the child through heatstroke has accepted a jail sentence of one year for negligent homicide.
The trial of 46 year old J.M.B.A. was scheduled for July 17th but did not take place because the defendant admitted the charges and the prosecution reduced its request for a prison term to 18 months.
The incident happened on July 18th 2008. The man had agreed to take his son to the nursery school in Tomares before continuing on to his work in the town of Camas.
J.M.B.A. was not used to taking his son to the nursery and, with the child having fallen asleep in his car seat, he forgot all about him. Being July, it was very hot. As a result, the toddler suffered heat stroke, second-degree burns on his leg and right foot, liver failure, cerebral edema and multiorgan failure.
The child was first taken to a health centre and then on to the Hospital Virgen del Rocío in Sevilla but medics were unable to save his life.
There is no compensation claim in the case as the only person entitled to claim is the mother and she does not wish to do so. She describes her husband as a ‘loving father’ and believes the incident to have been an unfortunate accident.
The defence is asking for a conditional suspension of the sentence in view of the fact that the defendant, J.M.B.H., has no prior criminal record.