- Graham, 40, has been charged with murder for leaving an 11-month-old child in a car resulting in death.
- She was babysitting the boy, named Myrical Wicker, for her 17-year-old mother.
- Authorities are awaiting the results of the baby’s autopsy to see if the charges should be changed to homicide.
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A 40-year-old Virginia woman has been charged with murder for leaving an 11-month-old child and a dog in a hot car, resulting in their deaths.
Kristen Danielle Graham, 40, has been charged with felony murder and is being held without bond at the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
Graham was given responsibility for 11-month-old Myrical Wicker by her 17-year-old mother for two days.
I had been alone in the car for approximately eight and a half hours.
The boy was discovered dead in a black plastic bag in the back of a car by emergency room staff at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News.
Kristen Danielle Graham, 40, has been accused of leaving an 11-month-old child and a dog in a hot car, resulting in their death.
17-year-old Myrical Wicker’s mother left her with Graham to look after her for two days. The dog belonged to Graham.
Authorities say Graham received a phone call from her friend around 1 a.m. on Sept. 12 asking her to bring cigarettes.
Her friend couldn’t buy them because she was caring for an elderly person in Newport News at the time.
Graham put the boy and dog in the back of the car, went to a 7-Eleven to buy cigarettes and spent “considerable” time at her friend’s house.
She then returned to York County at 8 a.m. and left the baby and dog in the car with the windows up. Around 2:30 pm, Graham “woke up” when he received a phone call and went outside to check on the dog and baby.
Both the baby and the dog were already dead at that time.
Sheriff Ron Montgomery said officials are awaiting the results of the baby’s autopsy to decide whether charges will be upgraded to homicide.
Graham left the baby and dog in the car with the windows up at 8am. Around 2:30 p.m., he “woke up” and went out to check on the dog and baby. They were both dead by then.
Court documents show that Paul Kudlaty, 80, took the deceased baby to Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in a trash bag. He is not facing charges.
The sheriff added that Graham has given conflicting accounts about why the child and dog were left in the vehicle.
He said the office was investigating whether she deliberately entered the home and left them both in the car.
Sheriff Montgomery further said in his statement: “These are not typical situations that we deal with in York County, and when you encounter the death of a child, it affects everyone: the investigators, the law enforcement there, the EMS people.” They have to respond to these kinds of things.
“And I can tell you that the mood of the agency today, when we had a briefing about it this morning, is one of some shock and disbelief, even though we are professionals and we have to do everything we can to do a thorough investigation and professional. research.’
He said investigators are trying to determine how hot the interior of the vehicle would have been before the two bodies were discovered.
The sheriff mentioned that Graham often babysat the girl and looked after “a friend of a friend’s baby.”
Police officers have not released the name of the 17-year-old mother or information about the dog.
