Police: Dad charged after girl, 6, strangles baby brother with seat belt

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - A father is facing charges after police say his 6-year-old daughter strangled her 1-year-old brother with a seat belt while they were left alone in a car.

The father, Adrian Dreshuan Middleton, has been charged with abandoning a child.

According to court documents, the father was shopping in a store off of the East Freeway in Houston on May 20, 2018, and left his two kids in the car. Police say the father told investigators he left the kids in the car with the AC on, left a movie playing, and gave them water and a snack before going into the store. Court documents state the father claimed the children were strapped in their seats, but he later admitted in a second interview there were no car seats for either child in the vehicle.

Court documents say the father told investigators he shopped for about 30-45 minutes and waited 15 minuted in the check out line while peeking out the store window to make sure the kids were fine. Investigators say surveillance video shows the man was in the store for approximately an hour and 40 minutes without checking on his kids.

According to court documents, the father returned to his vehicle after shopping and found the girl crying and found the boy with a seat belt wrapped around his neck. The father told investigators he called 911 and attempted CPR until the ambulance arrived.

The boy was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Court documents say the 6-year-old girl told investigators her brother was crying so she started playing with him, but he started crying again when she stopped. She told police she wrapped the seat belt around him and he stopped crying and she thought he was asleep.

According to the medical examiner, the boy's death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.

The father turned himself in to police on Monday afternoon.