An 18-year-old teen mother, Tipora Merriex, is accused of locking her 2-year-old daughter inside a hot car in Lake City. Allegedly, Merriex left the toddler in the car after continuous crying during a Smurfs film screening.
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An arrest report obtained by Law & Crime revealed that the incident occurred on Monday, July 21. Local police responded to Regal Cinema 90 on U.S. Highway 90 after receiving a report of a child left inside a hot car.
Upon arrival, a police officer was forced to break the driver’s side window to gain access to a 2002 Cadillac Escalade. Then, the officer managed to retrieve the 2-year-old left inside. As per the arrest report, the child had a “flushed red appearance, was sweating profusely, and was crying in distress.”
The toddler had spent at least 30 minutes inside the vehicle. Additionally, the temperature reached 94 degrees with a heat index of 107.
Mother Arrested
Merriex, as per the report, acted nonchalantly and claimed that she had “accidentally” locked her daughter inside the car.
Allegedly, Merriex told police that she had originally brought her toddler and her siblings to see Smurfs. As they were watching the movie, however, the 2-year-old child began “crying loudly.”
To keep her daughter from “disrupting other movie viewers’ experience,” Merriex allegedly told police she brought the child to the cinema’s lobby. She would do so several times before eventually leaving the child inside the vehicle.
Furthermore, a Regal Cinema employee told investigators that Merriex appeared to be “very annoyed with her daughter’s crying.” The report added that the employee saw Merriex taking out the victim to the lobby, who was then taken out by her siblings.
In an interview with police, Merriex’s husband allegedly told police that the woman had a prior history of not being able to handle her daughter’s crying well.
Tipora Merriex was arrested and charged with felony child neglect without great bodily harm. She is currently being held at the Columbia County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
“Our officers acted swiftly to ensure the safety of this young child,” Chief of Police Gerald Butler said in a news release. “Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable. We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritize the well-being of their children at all times.”