Twin babies were found dead in the back of their family’s hot car after being “accidented”left identically in the vehicle for an extended period of time.
Two-year-olds Ariel and Avery were found around 3 p.m. Thursday in Norman, Oklahoma.
An unnamed relative had started driving the white car, before turning around and realizing the twins were dead in the back seat.
Officers pronounced the children dead at the scene after being called to check on them. Police are still investigating how or why they were left in the burning car.
That day, the temperature in the area was about 90 degrees outside. According to the National Weather Service, a vehicle can reach up to 120 degrees in just 30 minutes when the outside temperature is 88 degrees.
Twins Ariel and Avery were found dead inside a hot car around 3 p.m. Thursday in Norman, Oklahoma.
The two-year-old children were found after the Norman Police Department responded to a welfare check request made by a driver who discovered the car stopped in the 1000 block of W Brooks Street. (Pictured: Ariel and Avery with their father Marshall Suter)
“We would have had to have determined that there was probable cause indicating willful negligence that directly linked them to the deaths of those children, and at this point, the investigation just shows us that it’s much more of an accident,” said Sarah Schettler of the Normal Police Department. Number 5.
Police are not currently recommending charges and said the family is cooperating with the investigation.
Authorities said the family member had been driving in the car when they suddenly noticed Ariel and Avery dead in the back seat of the vehicle.
Police believe the children had been in the car all day, but the timeline of events remains unclear.
Early Sunday, the children’s father, Marshall Suter, took to Facebook and posted: “I can’t believe this,” as family and friends showed their support.
Katherine Dawson, mother of Ariel and Avery, also took to social media on Saturday to report on their tragic deaths.
‘I know that right now there are a lot of people who want to reach out and be there for us. Both Marshall and I are going through difficult times that we can’t imagine.
‘We ask that you please respect that we need some space right now as we process and grieve.
“If you need to reach out to us, we have a lot of family members on both sides who can get in touch with us,” Katherine said.
Suter and Dawson, who share four children together including Ariel and Avery, often post loving photos of their kids on social media to mark birthdays and holidays.
Officers quickly located the vehicle (pictured) and pronounced the girls dead at the scene. Police are still investigating why they were left in the burning car.
Neighbor Andrew Kabara said cars are often parked on the street because many parents drop off their students at McKinley Elementary School or the University of Oklahoma, a couple of blocks from where the toddlers were found.
“We pay attention to most of them,” Kabara said. The Oklahoman.
“This is a very close-knit neighborhood and we want to know who’s coming through here and all that, but we never thought about anything like that,” he added.
The girls were described as “precious little babies.”
The day the girls were discovered, Kabara said she became concerned after seeing several cars parked across the street.
‘We feel for the children who died, their parents and the rest of their family.
“We can’t imagine it. After hearing it (Friday) morning, our hearts broke to think that it was just two little kids living across the street.
“It broke our hearts. We can’t believe something like this happened so close. It’s a shame,” Kabara said, adding that their deaths were “a tragic mistake.”
Flowers were placed on the grass near where Ariel and Avery were found.
TO GoFundMe Page It was created by Kourtnee Usey, the cousin of Marshall Suter, the girls’ father.
“All funds will be used to give these precious babies the funeral they deserve and take a weight off this father’s shoulders after dealing with such a tragic and HEARTBREAKING loss,” Kourtnee wrote.
“No one truly knows the pain of losing a child until they experience it.”
As of Sunday night, the page had raised more than $3,700.
The twins are seen with their mother Katherine Dawson (right) and their other siblings in December 2023.
Police are not currently recommending filing charges and said the family is cooperating with the investigation.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Norman Police Department. The horrific incident marks the first heat-related child death in the state this year.
A three-year-old boy was found dead inside a burning van on August 13 after his father abandoned him to go shopping.
The boy died inside a pickup truck in a supermarket parking lot in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, when his father stopped there after work.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office is treating the death as a heat-related incident.
Temperatures in Vicksburg, a town in Kalamazoo County where the death occurred, reached the 80s that day.
