Dad who left baby in hot van tried to save her by putting her in fridge, affidavit says

MELISSA, Tex. — A Texas man who forgot that his 6-month-old daughter was in the family's van as temperatures soared into the 90s Tuesday attempted to cool her by putting her in a refrigerator, according to court records. The girl did not survive.

Michael Shannon Thedford, 33, was arrested Tuesday on one count of manslaughter and released on bond the same day, according to records from the Collin County Sheriff's Office.

Thedford dropped his other two children, ages 5 and 3, off at day care and returned to his home with his 6-month-old daughter around 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KDFW.

He forgot his daughter was in the van and went inside to nap, according to the affidavit. He usually dropped his infant daughter off at day care as well, but she had a fever on Monday night and couldn't go, KDFW reported.

She was in the van for at least three hours before he awoke and found her.

Afterward he "placed the girl in the refrigerator for an undetermined length of time," before calling 911, according to the affidavit. Thedford and his wife attempted to perform CPR on the girl, but they were not successful.

Sheriff's deputies responded around 1:30 p.m. to Thedford's home in Melissa, a city with a population of 4,695 roughly 40 miles north of Dallas.

"They were asking the mother a few questions and she looked like she was crying. She was devastated. So was he, he would hug her and cry as well," neighbor Fabiola Contreras told KTVT. Thedford worked as a substitute teacher for the local high school and is a "very serious and quiet person," she told the television station.

"It's hard to believe because how can you forget a child in your own car? It's your child," she said.

Cox Media Group