TUSCALOOSA, AL — Additional details emerged Thursday in the investigation into the death of a 13-month-old child left inside a hot vehicle in Brookwood.
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As Patch previously reported, 30-year-old Logan Keith Chewning was charged Wednesday night with manslaughter following the death of the infant boy at the family home in the 11000 block of Stone Ridge Court in Brookwood.
Captain Jack Kennedy, commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, said the child’s father admitted to drinking throughout the day and investigators believe the infant remained inside the vehicle for “multiple hours” in temperatures reaching the mid-90s while the mother was at work.
During a Thursday press conference, Kennedy said numerous agencies were dispatched to the home after the grandmother of the infant reported finding the child deceased inside a vehicle, still strapped into a car seat.
“The father admitted to drinking at different times throughout the day and also admitted to leaving the residence at least one time to purchase more alcohol,” Kennedy said. “The father reported that he believed the child had been sleeping in his crib, but obviously had been left behind in the vehicle.”
Kennedy said investigators consulted with the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s Office before charging Keith with manslaughter Wednesday night.
He also clarified an error in the initial announcement, which erroneously stated the charge fell under Alabama’s Aniah’s Law.
“Manslaughter does not fall under Aniah’s Law,” Kennedy said, adding that Chewning remained jailed under Tuscaloosa County’s standing bond order for offenses without preset bond amounts.
Kennedy explained that the manslaughter charge stems from what investigators allege was reckless conduct resulting in the child’s death.
“Another way manslaughter can apply is if you engage in reckless behavior that results in the death of another person,” Kennedy said. “The manslaughter statute is what we applied here after consultation with the district attorney’s office, alleging that he engaged in reckless behavior that ultimately resulted in the death.”
Kennedy, however, went on to say more serious charges remain possible as the investigation continues.
“We’re still awaiting the full autopsy results,” he said. “We have multiple items out for forensic testing, and when we get all those results back, there is a chance these charges could be raised to murder. That is a possibility.”
Kennedy also confirmed that responding officers reported smelling alcohol on Chewning when they arrived at the residence. A blood sample was later obtained through a search warrant and submitted to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for testing.
Investigators are also working to confirm the father’s movements throughout the day, Kennedy said, including whether he drove the vehicle to get more alcohol while the child remained strapped inside.
“That’s still under investigation because some of those movements were self-reported by him and we have to confirm those,” Kennedy said. “But the belief is that at some point he left with the child in the vehicle, came back home and did not bring the child inside.”
The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the child’s official cause of death.
The investigation remains ongoing by the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit.
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