NJ mother charged in death of toddler left alone in hot car
Chaya Shurkin, 25, of Lakewood, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - A New Jersey woman has been charged in the death of her 21-month-old child after prosecutors say she left the child alone in a hot car for more than two hours.
Chaya Shurkin, 25, of Lakewood, was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
On May 6, officers responded to a report of a child in distress at a Lakewood home, where they found a neighbor attempting to perform CPR on the victim. The child was then transported to Montmouth Medical Center, where they later died.
“A thorough and extensive investigation revealed that the child had been left alone in Shurkin’s motor vehicle for approximately two-and-one-half hours with the car turned off, in the heat," said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer. "The investigation determined that the act of leaving the child in the car unattended for such a long period of time was the cause and manner of the child’s death.”
The child's name has not been disclosed. It's remains unclear why the child was left unattended.