A Vernal man was arrested Tuesday for alleged child abuse homicide after he reportedly left his 7-month-old daughter in a car seat inside a closed vehicle. Tommy Dean Platero is currently being held in the Uintah County jail without bail while investigators look into the first-degree felony charge.
According to arrest documents, Platero intended to take the child to a daycare within Vernal city limits but instead transported the child to an area on north Vernal Avenue. Platero reportedly entered a building at 1251 hours and later returned to the vehicle at approximately 1530 hours, at which point he realized the child was still inside.
Investigators stated that when Platero parked the vehicle, the engine was off, the windows were up, and the vehicle was likely locked. Upon returning to the car, Platero observed that the child was not breathing or blinking and had foam on the mouth. Platero then drove the infant to the emergency room, where the child was pronounced deceased.
A Vernal Police officer responding to Uintah Basin Hospital reported that the child had a recorded internal temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit. While the outside temperature in Vernal was approximately 92 degrees Fahrenheit, investigators found the internal temperature of the vehicle to be between 131 and 151 degrees Fahrenheit.
The child was left inside the shut-off vehicle for approximately 150 minutes. The child's remains have been sent to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner to determine the cause and manner of death.
