Father Indicted in Twins' Hot Car Death

CARROLLTON, GA — The father of twin girls who died in a hot SUV last month in Carrollton has been indicted on second-degree murder charges.

Carroll County DA Pete Skandalakis made the announcement Thursday morning, according to WSB.

Asa North was also indicted on two counts of cruelty to children and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

North allegedly left the girls in the backseat of an SUV on Aug. 4 while their mother was visiting her sister at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, according to police. Police also say North was drunk at the time.

Police were called to an apartment complex around 6:30 p.m. and neighbors trying to cool the girls down in the pool with ice packs.

• See also: Tyler Perry Offers to Pay For Funeral For Twins Left in Hot Car

After the girls' mother, Breal Ellis, said she was having trouble finding enough money to bury the children, entertainment mogul Tyler Perry offered to pick up the expenses.

The high temperature on that day in Carrollton was 87 degrees, but it doesn't have to reach dangerous levels outside to become a threat to people and animals left in a vehicle. July and August are the peak months for hot car deaths.

In the majority of cases of child heatstroke fatality – 53 percent – parents simply forgot their child was in the car, according to NoHeatStroke.org. Babies sleep soundly, and parents are stressed, rushing to get to work or driving on autopilot, not tuned in to a new schedule or change of routine.

Child deaths from heat stroke began trending up dramatically in 1998 along with awareness of the dangers airbags pose to children in the front seat. From 1990 to 1997, a total of 90 reported cases of children dying of heat stroke in cars were reported, an average of just more than 11 per year. From 1998 to 2005, that number more than tripled to 304, an average of 38 per year.

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