Girl, 6, Strangled 1-Year-Old Brother After Dad Left Them Alone in Car: Police

A Texas father has been charged with child abandonment after his 6-year-old daughter allegedly strangled her 1-year-old brother to death with a seat belt while the father went shopping. 

Adrian Dreshuan Middleton, 26, was charged on Friday in connection with the May 20 incident. He turned himself in on Monday afternoon.

Middleton is accused of leaving his two children in the car while he went shopping for more than an hour in Houston. When he returned the car, his 6-year-old daughter was crying, said she needed to go to the bathroom and allegedly revealed she had done “something bad”, court documents stated.

That’s when Middleton reportedly found his son unconscious with a seat belt wrapped around him.

The girl reportedly told police she was playing with her brother to make him stop crying but when he started again, she grew angry and wrapped the seat belt around him. 

She told authorities she thought he was sleeping, authorities said. 

Middleton tried to perform CPR and called 911. The boy was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The dad allegedly told police he’d left the air conditioner in the car on and put on a movie for his kids. He also said he left water and a snack for them. 

He initially told investigators he was only in the store for 30 to 45 minutes but surveillance footage showed he was gone for an hour and 40 minutes.

The boy’s death was ruled a homicide by strangulation. The 6-year-old will not face charges because of her age, police said. 

She is now staying with her grandmother, KTRK reported. 

It's not clear if Middleton has an attorney. He has not yet entered a plea. 

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