3-year-old in state care dies when worker forgets him in hot car, AL cops say

A 3-year-old in state custody died in a hot car when a worker forgot to drop him off at day care after a family visit, Alabama authorities said.

Now, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has announced the arrest of 54-year-old Kela Stanford on a charge of leaving a child or an incapacitated person unattended in a motor vehicle.

“This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary,” District Attorney Danny Carr said Aug. 1.

Records show Stanford was booked in jail Aug. 1 and bonded out about an hour later.

“I truly believe in my heart, because I have met her several times and she has transferred kids a lot, I don’t think she killed my nephew intentionally,” the boy’s aunt, Brittney Debruce, told NBC. “But she made a mistake. We definitely want answers, and we won’t stop.”

Stanford is accused of leaving 3-year-old Ketorrius “KJ” Starkes Jr. in a hot car in Birmingham for about five hours on July 22, leading to his death, according to the Jefferson County coroner.

Stanford was a contract worker with the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which had custody of the toddler at the time, the agency said.

Stanford picked up KJ from day care and brought him to a supervised visit with his dad at a DHR office, then she was supposed to drop him back off at day care after, WBRC reported after speaking to the boy’s father.

But police say she forgot he was in her car and went home instead, according to the outlet.

It wasn’t until the boy’s foster mother called looking for the child that they realized he had been in the car all along, AL.com reported.

“I mean, words can’t even express how I feel right now,” the father told WBRC. “As soon as I leave my son, the first thing he says is, ‘Daddy, I want to go with you.’ He says that every time, and it really hurts.”

DHR told McClatchy News the woman was terminated. Now she’s facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

KJ’s family is calling for change.

“We want justice for my nephew KJ and also for this to never happen to another kid again,” Debruce wrote on Facebook. “IF the State is going to remove people’s kids from their home and their families they should be held 100% accountable for their safety and well-being.”

Hot car deaths

More than 1,000 children have died in hot cars since 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“About 37 children a year die from heatstroke, either because they were left or became trapped in a car. During the summer, that’s about two children every week killed in a hot car.”

Hot car deaths are most common in the summer, but they can happen at any time, according to the administration. The first “vehicular heatstroke” of the year typically happens in March.

“Leaving a window open is not enough — temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, officials said you should make sure the child is responsive and if not, immediately call 911.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 12:30 PM with the headline "3-year-old in state care dies when worker forgets him in hot car, AL cops say."