No charges for Michigan man whose son died in van
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No charges for Michigan man whose son died in van
DETROIT, July 27 (Reuters) - A Michigan college professor whose
5-month-old son
died from heat stroke after being locked for nearly five hours inside a
minivan
in which the temperature reached 116 degrees (46.7 degrees Celsius) will
not
face criminal charges, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair said an investigation into the
conduct of
Thomas Fungwe, 47, concluded the Southfield man was negligent in the
care of
his son, but did not intend to hurt the baby or know he was in danger.
Thorence Fungwe died July 14 after his father forgot the sleeping infant
was in
the van when he left the vehicle in an outdoor parking lot and went to
his job
as an assistant professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. The
medical
examiner ruled the death accidental.
Although Michigan law states parents can face criminal charges for
intentionally hurting their children, the state requires evidence of
gross
negligence or wilful or reckless conduct, O'Hair said.
``I feel very deeply about the death of a child, about a father's
responsibility, about what kind of message is sent by a decision to
prosecute
or not to prosecute,'' O'Hair said in a statement.
``But in the end, as chief law enforcement officer for the county, I
have the
duty to follow the law,'' he added. ``The conclusion is simply that
there is no
legally supportable basis for criminal charges.''
Fungwe could have faced charges as serious as second-degree murder.
On the day Thorence Fungwe died, Thomas Fungwe dropped off his two older
sons
at a day camp. He was supposed to drop the infant off at a day care
centre on
his way to work.
After realising his mistake, witnesses said Fungwe screamed, ``I killed
my
baby, I killed my baby.''
12:38 07-27-99
------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/28/99 online edition of The
Detroit
News newspaper:
Dad who left baby won't be charged
Boy died of heat stroke after he was left in hot van
By David Shepardson / The Detroit News
Wednesday, July 28, 1999
DETROIT -- Prosecutors will not charge the father of a baby who died
after
being left in the back seat of a minivan for nearly five hours in
stifling
heat.
Thomas Fungwe, 47, an assistant professor of nutrition at Wayne
State
University, forgot to drop off his 5 1/2-month-old son, Thorence, at a
baby-sitter's house the morning of July 14. Some five hours later,
Thorence
died of heat stroke in a school parking lot; his body temperature was
more than
108 degrees.
"All the evidence established absent-mindedness on the part of
Thomas
Fungwe. There is no evidence of any sinister motives, or that he had
actual
knowledge of his son's peril," Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair said
Tuesday.
Fungwe had dropped his two older sons off at a Bible camp in
Highland Park
that morning, stopped for gas and then forgot the baby. The baby wasn't
discovered until his wife, Florence, went to the baby-sitter and then
called
him when the baby wasn't there.
"We're not ready to talk about it. It's just too hard," Florence
Fungwe
said Tuesday.
----------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/28/99 online edition of The
Detroit
Free Press newspaper:
Father won't be charged in son's death
Leaving baby in van not criminal neglect
July 28, 1999
BY SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Absentmindedness, not sinister intent, caused a Wayne State University
assistant professor to leave his 5-month-old son in a sweltering minivan
after
he parked and went to classes this month.
Although the father's forgetfulness was deadly, prosecutors ruled
Tuesday, it
was not criminal.
Wayne County prosecutors said they won't charge Thomas Fungwe in the
death of
5-month-old Thorence. Fungwe, 47, left his baby in a minivan July 14 for
nearly
five hours in a campus parking lot while he went to work as an assistant
professor of nutrition and food science.
The temperature inside the van was 117 degrees when Thorence was
discovered.
Prosecutors said they found that Fungwe was negligent in forgetting his
son was
in the van, but they ruled gross negligence -- the standard to press
criminal
charges -- did not occur.
"I feel very deeply about the death of a child, about a father's
responsibility, about what kind of message is sent by a decision to
prosecute
or not prosecute," said Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair. But "the
conclusion is simply that there is no legal supportable basis for
criminal
charges."
Under Michigan law, parents can be subject to criminal charges for gross
negligence, or intentional harm to their children. However, the state
does not
generally criminalize ordinary negligence. An exception is when death is
caused
by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Gross negligence occurs when a parent realizes the danger of a situation
and
does not take appropriate steps to prevent mishaps. For example, a
parent who
leaves a child in a hot car to run an errand, fully knowing that a
stifling
automobile can be harmful to the child, is acting in a grossly negligent
manner.
By contrast, negligence is when harm comes to a child, but a parent does
not
have knowledge of the dangerous situation. In Fungwe's case, he was
negligent
because he forgot the child was inside the van, thus he was unaware of
the
danger Thorence faced, prosecutors said.
"There are parents who we've charged, and will continue to charge, who
choose
to leave their child in the car while they go shopping or something,"
said
Nancy Diehl, director of the Wayne County prosecutor's child and family
abuse
bureau. "They are aware of the dangerous situation and choose to ignore
it.
That's gross negligence.
"This is a father who truly forgot," she said.
On July 14, Fungwe dropped two of his children off at a day camp but
forgot his
infant was in the minivan in a car seat directly behind the driver's
seat. The
child died of hyperthermia at Children's Hospital of Michigan in
Detroit, where
doctors were unable to resuscitate him.
Diehl said the case was an emotional one. Even in her office, some
employees
were appalled that a father could forget a child. Others said they could
imagine how easily it could happen.
John Petersen, dean of the College of Science at Wayne State University
and a
Fungwe family spokesman, said the community's outreach to the Fungwes --
more
than 100 cards and letters -- has helped the family through their
ordeal. And
the prosecutor's ruling is one more step in the right direction, he
said.
"I think the family certainly is relieved that the issue has been
decided,"
Petersen said. "Obviously, it's been a distraction for the family to
have
something hanging over their head during this tragedy. They are working
very
hard to try to get things back together for themselves."
Staff writers Marsha Low, Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki and Kim North Shine
contributed
to this report.