Toddler Dies After Being Left Alone in Extreme Heat Inside A Car, As Her Parents were busy "High And Drunk"

An 18-month-old girl in Florida tragically died after being left alone in a sweltering car overnight by her parents. 

Joel and Jazmine Rondon, both 33 years old, have been arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd characterized their daughter's death as a "torturous" outcome resulting from negligence and drug use.

The couple attended a Fourth of July party with their three children, all under the age of 9, and didn't return home until nearly 3 a.m. 

The parents consumed alcohol and marijuana at the gathering, with Joel also allegedly using methamphetamine. Upon arriving home, Jazmine instructed Joel to bring their 18-month-old daughter inside while she tended to their two older children.

Joel believed one of the car doors was open at the time and assumed his wife had already taken the toddler inside. However, it turned out that the child remained in the car. Neither parent checked on their daughter's whereabouts before going to bed. 

Joel woke up in the morning, got ready for work, and asked his eldest child to check on the baby. It was then discovered that the little girl was not in the house.

Joel went outside and found his daughter unresponsive in the backseat of their Hyundai Elantra, still strapped into her car seat. 

The child had suffered a "torturous death" due to the extreme heat inside the vehicle. Despite being removed from the car for several hours, her internal body temperature remained dangerously high. An autopsy confirmed hyperthermia caused by being left in the car, and the death was ruled a homicide.

Both parents tested positive for alcohol and drugs. Joel has a lengthy criminal history dating back to his teenage years. The surviving children are now in the care of relatives.