Overview

• On June 6 in Ormond Beach, Scott Allen Gardner allegedly left his 18-month-old son Sebastian strapped in a locked pickup truck for more than three hours in 92°F weather, during which interior temperatures reached roughly 111°F.
• Gardner is accused of crossing the street for a haircut and spending hours at a nearby bar, returning with his mother after the toddler’s death and remaining there until midnight, according to the sheriff.
• Medical responders found Sebastian in rigor mortis with a body temperature over 107°F, indicating he had been deceased for hours before Gardner called 911 at 2:40 p.m.
• On June 19, Gardner was arrested at his mother’s home and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and neglect causing great bodily harm, and he remains jailed without bond.
• Sheriff Mike Chitwood described Gardner’s conduct as intentional neglect and criticized his false statements to investigators before the confession.