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Louisiana Dad Faces Second-Degree Murder Charge in Toddler’s Hot Car Death

Bail was set at $750,000 with investigators reviewing evidence of the toddler’s more than nine-hour confinement on a day when the heat index peaked at 104 degrees.

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Authorities said Joseph Boatman, 32, was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center after his daughter was discovered dead inside his vehicle on Sunday.
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Overview

  • Joseph Boatman consumed multiple alcoholic beverages before picking up his 21-month-old daughter in Madisonville on June 8 and allegedly left her strapped in his car for more than nine hours.
  • A family member found the toddler unresponsive around noon and deputies pronounced her dead at the scene in Madisonville, where temperatures reached 92°F and the heat index peaked at 104°F.
  • Boatman was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center and formally charged with second-degree murder.
  • His bail was set at $750,000, and he remains in custody pending a court appearance and an ongoing sheriff’s office investigation.
  • According to KidsAndCars.org, this marks the fifth U.S. hot car death this year and contributes to an average of 38 annual fatalities of children aged three and under in overheated vehicles.