LAKELAND, Fla. — A father has been sentenced to 20 years in Florida state prison after he and his wife left their 18-month-old daughter in a car for nearly eight hours in Lakeland, leading to her death.
Last year, Joel and Jazmine Rondon reportedly left their daughter, Isabella, strapped into her car seat around 3 a.m. after returning home from a Fourth of July party with her two young siblings, aged 6 and 8 at the time.
As the two unloaded food and other items from their car, Jazmine reportedly told Joel to bring Isabella inside while she brought in the other two kids, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference last year.
At that time, Joel saw one of the car's doors sitting open as he was bringing stuff inside their home. When he returned to the car, that door had somehow closed, Judd said.
This led Joel to believe Jazmine had already brought the toddler inside, so he went back into the house and went to bed.
Joel woke up around 10 a.m. that morning and began getting ready for work. Around 11 a.m., he asked one of the kids to go "check on the baby" and the child responded that the baby was not in the room, Judd said.
The father began searching the house and eventually checked the car where he found the little girl still strapped in her car seat and unresponsive.
Despite efforts from staff at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center to cool the child, she could not be revived.
Investigators determined that four hours after being found, Isabella's internal body temperature was at 104 degrees, according to the sheriff's office.
An autopsy determined that her death was caused from hyperthermia due to being left in a car, ruling the manner of death as a homicide.
Joel and Jazmine both submitted drug screenings during the investigation, which came back positive for alcohol and marijuana. Judd added that Joel's screening also contained methamphetamine.
Both parents were arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Joel pleaded guilty, bypassing a trial and going straight to sentencing. On Nov. 8, a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Jazmine Rondon's pre-trial is set fro Dec. 11, 2024, where a plea deal will likely be entered.
This article includes previous reporting from 10 Tampa Bay.