SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) A college professor whose 10-month-old
son died after being forgotten in the backseat of a car during a
heat wave will not be charged, prosecutors said Friday.
Prosecutors decided against filing an involuntary manslaughter
charge against University of California, Irvine professor Mark
Warschauer after researching similar cases, said Orange County
Deputy District Attorney Mathew Murphy.
``In cases where an otherwise responsible parent with no history
of abuse or negligence accidentally leaves a child in a car, and we
cannot show (that there was) conscious disregard for the safety of
the child, the law does not provide for criminal prosecution,''
Murphy said.
Warschauer is vice chair of Irvine's Department of Education and
an associate professor of information and computer technology.
On Aug. 8, he drove to work and parked, forgetting his son
Michael in the back seat of his car, officials said.
The boy remained in the car with the windows rolled up for over
three hours before students noticed him and notified paramedics,
who pronounced him dead.
Authorities said Warschauer, whom neighbors described as a
doting father, was distraught when he realized he had left his
child inside the car.
Warschauer's attorney, Jennifer Keller, said she was relieved by
Friday's decision.
``The law does not support criminal liability on these facts,
and in any event, no greater pain could ever be inflicted on this
loving father than having to live with the loss of his beloved
son,'' Keller said.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)