The mother of a 3-year-old boy found dead in a Bondurant garage earlier this year has turned herself in.
Tiffani R. Huff Holmes, 41, surrendered to the Polk County Jail late Sunday, Dec. 21 and was charged with child endangerment resulting in death, a class B felony, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday.
Child Died of Overheating in a Closed Garage
The charge stems from a June 28 incident when deputies and Bondurant EMS responded to the home over reports of an unresponsive child. Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and performed life-saving efforts but were unable the revive the child.
A search warrant application from August shows the child likely died as a result of overheating in a closed garage.
When Holmes called 911, she told dispatchers her son's lips were blue, according to the search warrant. She found the child in the garage but brought him inside to perform CPR as directed by dispatchers.
Holmes Told Investigators She Took a Nap and Woke Up to Find Her Son in the Garage 'Hot to the Touch'
She told investigators she had taken a nap and when she woke up, found her son sitting in a folding lawn chair in the garage, where the overhead door had been shut, the search warrant says.
Holmes told investigators the child was "hot to the touch" and "extremely sweaty" and that she brought him inside in an attempt to cool him down.
She was unable to recall what time she went to sleep and said she woke up about five to 10 minutes before calling 911. The high temperature that day was 91 degrees.
Holmes Struggled with Alcohol Abuse, Admitted to Drinking Alcohol and Leaving the Child Unattended
The child's father, who arrived home after he was notified of the incident, told investigators Holmes had struggled with alcohol abuse for about five years and she was not allowed to have alcohol in the home.
According to the criminal complaint, deputies found a mostly consumed bottle of vodka at the home and she admitted she was drinking alcohol and left the child unsupervised, leading to his death.
The father told investigators the child did not normally go into the garage and could not open doors. Investigators found the garage door was broken and had to be manually lifted. Holmes is being held on a $1 million bond.
