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Kristen Danielle Graham, of Seaford, had been caring for the child — whose mom is 17 years old — for two days, York County Sheriff Ron Montgomery said.
Around 1 a.m. on Sept. 12, Graham went to bring cigarettes to a friend caring for an elderly man in Newport News, Montgomery said. Graham loaded the baby, identified as Myracle Wicker, in the back of the vehicle, along with a small dog, and went to a 7-Eleven to buy a bottle of apple juice and cigarettes, the sheriff said.
Graham went to her friend's house where she stayed for "some period of time," and then went back to her York County home around 8 a.m., with the baby, Montgomery said.
That's when Graham rolled up the car windows and turned it off, but left the dog and child in the vehicle. Around 2 p.m., a phone call woke Graham up, who at that point went outside to check on the baby and the dog, authorities said.
Both were dead. The heat index was at least 100 degrees while the baby and dog were in the car, the sheriff said.
The baby was brought to the hospital in a black plastic bag, authorities said, but it was later determined that the person reporting the incident had done so.
Graham has been charged with felony child neglect and animal cruelty, but those could be upgraded pending the outcome of the autopsy.
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