Police: Man locked disabled child in hot car to punish mom
Published 8:58 pm Wednesday, May 24, 2017
COLUMBUS (AP) — A Mississippi man is under arrest on a felony child abuse charge after police say he purposefully locked a disabled child in a hot car to punish the girl’s mother.
Thirty-one-year-old Brandon Windham was arrested last Thursday after witnesses said he walked away from a car with a girl inside. The Clarion-Ledger reports that the heat index was 90 degrees at the time.
The child, who is between 6 and 10, is disabled and wasn’t able to free herself. She was stuck for 10 to 20 minutes before officers rescued her.
Assistant Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton says Windham had an altercation with the child’s mother earlier in the day and locked the child in the car to punish her. It’s unclear if Windham has a lawyer.