IS ae ROO ee S 5 itz Briefcase? Check. Keys? Check. Cellphone? idneaan The Na tragedy MINA cles accidentally left to CoN ae om BY GENE WEINGARTEN si << =]wwe 208 CONTENTS “Some people think, ‘Okay, | can see forgetting a child for two minutes, but not eight hours.’ What they don’t understand is that the 16 parent in his or her mind has dropped off the baby at day care.” JANETTE FENNELL, CAR SAPETY ADVOCATE. STORY ON PAGE & FIRST THINGS FIRST ators Note Cul de Sac Second Glonce First Person Singular Moking tt Date Lab Editor's Query Dibert Nao aeunn DEPARTMENTS 20. Dining Bourbon Steak 30 The Pure See the Secret Word COVER STORY les Harrison in the nursery fovea, gexec this deceased son, Chase, ‘at hie Porcelite home. 2 vers 8 Room to Grow Fatal Distraction santa weute sentiment teats, ALMEER ae sone of the mos tesble mistakes a paren could ever make. TM : 22 Below the Beltway So, how docs anyone accidentally leave a baby ‘with Hilary Clintons Me, in a Nutshell 10 die ina hor parked car presidential rp, yous think iat wane fats women onthe verge of kr he pce FEATURE ‘tie nator eae What Lies Beneath carn atten The at of toupee making ion the wane, but there are — | ‘sill folks who wanc that custom thatch, On th Cover: Sue pot by Os Soi DeSsPrae ‘Sata 007, The aga Po a, 180 18S Whos 2007S 07a Th Mp aco ng oa, [OR ENB Ten Sheer eau Fon: Sn Tras, EATR: Sandy M. Ferns, Les Ruban ans Rewely car ma moDiEnEN CHE Men Bal, svar warns aura Sivmerfl. Uie Muay, Tom Sltsema, Gane Weirgarten, Api Wt: COM ebon: Csabeth Chang, Mcnele Gaps; ABT DARETOR: J Prt oro eon Evan Jane Kes; ABtrakr moto BOR: loner Beeson; MaouEHOH EOOEDANTOR War Gino cOMABUTNG MAES. Citi lng, Pele Sean, Wols Tower sawuustnireeaueatour, Dale Seite; sb/UATNG GENERAL WAGE, Jey Abromsn, ABA PoDuETioMaNen, Ie Gander, savanna SLES RERESENANVES: One DUB, ha CYRaon,HBMINTAINE ASHSTAT ince Bast aonerina MROBETON ih Uptie Ban, ache ls te Keen, Te Mont AWETMG nae eS, Wii oj Jee Wash, PHOS EOMORAL 207334 TE85, mab ADMIN 202/234:528, 5226, 5225, en Yom ses 21214655050, ABNER 202/204-5160, MAIME MEET 2123947029. Conye® 2008 Th Warn Ps, 1501S St MH, angen, OC. 2007Raelyn “yn” Balfour, ow expecting her fourth eid, aciden- tay eft her son Bryce, shown opposite, in the hack seat of her car In her workplace park- ing lot in March 2007. ‘The 9-month-ld died ‘ot hyperthermia. Goran Ragan ‘QUESTIONS AND-COMMENTS about Rey recy Ne enes pence Man?Forgetting a child in the back seat of a hot, parked car is a horrifying, inexcusable mistake. Butis it a crime? The defendant was an immense man, well over 300 pounds, but in the gravity of his sorrow and shame he seemed larger still. He hunched forwar in the sturdy wooden armchair that barely contained him, sobbing softly int tissue after tissue, a leg bouncing nervously under the table. In the first pew of spectators sat his wife, looking stricken, absently twisting her wedding band BYGENE WEI NGARTEN | 8018208 | Ce taine Pos Marie 9Harrison saw that there were people witnessing his disgrace. The big man swayed a little until someone stead- ied him, and then he gasped out in a keening falsetto: “My poor baby!” — The room was a sepulcher. Wienesses spake softly of events 50) painfl that many los their composure. When a hospital emergency) zoom ause descibed how the defendant had behaved afer the po Tice first brought him in, she wept. He was virally cataronc, she} ‘remembered hiseyesshut tight, rocking back and forth, locked away in some unfachomabe private torment. He would not speak at all far the longest cime, not nel the ours sank down beside him and held is hand. I was only chen chat the pariene began 10 open up, and what he sid was that he didn’ want any sedation, that he didn, dleserve a respite from pain, chat he waned co fee cal, and chen co dic. “The charge in the courtroom was manslaugheer, brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia. No significant facts were in disput, Miles Harrison, 49, was an amiable person, a diligent businessman and a doting, conscientious father until the day last summer — beset by problems a work. making call areal on his cellphone — he forgo to drop his son, Chase ar day care. The toddler lowly swe!- tered to death, strapped into a car seat for nealy nine hours in an ‘office parking loin Herndon in the blistering hes of July. Teas an inexplicable inexcusable miseake, but was it a exime! ‘That vas the question for a judge wo decd. | ‘Acone pong, during reess, Harrison rose unsteadily ois fect, turned to leave the catrraom snd sat, if for the fist cee, cat there were people wienessing his disgrace. The big maris eyes low ered. He swayed alice until someone steadied him, and then he sped out in akeening sco: "My poor baby” ‘A group of mide-choolrs ied into dhe coom fora scheduled class trip othe courthouse. The teacher csly hadi expected thi within few minutes, the wide eyed kids were hustled back out. ‘The tal would ls three day, Sing through it side by side in the ar ofthe courcroom, were cwo women who had traveled hous tw get there. Unlike almost everyone else on the spectator benches they were noc relatives or co-workers or clos rend ofthe accused "the lower potion ofthe body wasted ro red-purpe. ‘As the mast excruciating ofthe evidence came out, fiom the med ical examiner, the women in che back drew closer together, leaning, into each other “a green discoloration ofthe abdomen ans. whar we call skin slippage reaches 108 degrees when death ensues” Mary — the olds, shorter one — cembled. Lyn — the younger) taller one with the long, scawierry blond hair — gathered het io, ‘ne arm around the shoulder, the other across their bodies, hold ing hands | ‘When the tral ended, Lyn Balfour and Mary Parks eft quiet, drawing no attention co themselves. They hadnt wanted co be thes, ‘bc eheyd fel duty, both to the defendant and, in a much more 10 Gein st ape | wc. | i kop ay to thomas | owas unasul co say the least: chree people rogether in one place, ‘hating the same heartbreaking history. All three had accidentally Ukled ther babies inthe ident, incomprehensible, modern way "Death by lyperthermia” is the official designation. When lichappens to young children, dhe faccsacoften the same: An other- ‘wise loving and atentive porent one day gets busy, or dstaced, or ‘upset, orconfised bya change in is or er daly ruin, and jus forgets a chil isin the ae Te happens cha way somewhere in che [Unite States 15 1 25 cimesayeat parceled out through the spring, yummer and easly fll. The season is almost upon us. {| Two:decades ago, this was relatively ac. But in ce easly 1990, kar-sifey experts declared that passenger-side front airbags could Kill children, and they recommended char child seats be moved to back of the car then, for even mote safety forthe very young, {har the baby seats be pivored eo face che eat IF few foresaw the fragie consequence of the lesened visibility ofthe child... wel, }vho can blame them? Whac kin of person forgets «baby? The wealthy do, it sus out. And the poor, and the mide las PParens of all ages and ethnicities doit. Morhers ate just a likely 0 Ho itas fiers. Ie happens tothe chronically absent-minded and to {the fanatcally organized, ro che collee-educated and tothe ms fly itera. In che ast 10 year, ithas happened toa dentist. A postal etk. A social worker. A police officer An accountant. A soldier. |W paralegal An electrician. A Protestane clergyman, A eabbinical fudent. A nurse. A constuction worker An assisane principal. I happened toa mental health counselor, college professor and a piza khef. Ir happened toa pediatrician Ic happened toa rocker scien. |) Last year ic happened three times in one day, che worst day 50 far in the worst yer so far in a phenomenon that gives no sign of abating ‘The Facts in cach case dfer alte, but alays thece sche ex e moment when the parent realizes what he or she has done, often bene ‘phone call ftom a spouse or caregiver. This fllowed by ic spine tothe cae. Whar awais cere i che worst cing in he word 1 Each insance has its on macabre signature. One father had [parked his cae next co the grounds of councy fia he discor- fed his son's body, clliope tooled meely beside him. Another Jan, wanting to end things quickly, eed to wrestle a gun from police office a he scene. Several people —inchuding Mary Parks 9 Blacksburg — have ive fom thee workplace to the day-care [entero pick up the child theyd thought they d dropped off never poicng the corp inthe back et. | Then cha is the Chattanooga, Tenn, business executive who Jost ive with cis: His motion-letecto ca aaron went off chece | | |separate times, out therein che broiling sun”Buc when he looked ‘our, he couldn't see anyone tampering with che car. So he remotely deactivated the alarm and went calmly back o work ‘There may be ne act of fuman failing that more fundamentally challenges our society's views bout crime, punishment, justice and mercy. According t statistics compiled by a national child? safery advocacy group in about 49 percent of eases authorities ex amine the evidence, determine chat the child's death was a tecble cident — a mistake of memory that delves iflong sentence of _gu far grearer than any a judge or jury could mete out — and fle no charges. Inthe other 60 percent of the eases, parsing essentially idencical faces and applying chem ro essncall denial ws, author: ies decide thatthe negligence was so great and che injury so grievous hat it muse be called a lon, and ic must be aggressively pursued 'AS ic happens, just five days before Milks Harrison forgot his toddler son in the parking lot of che Hemdon corporate-relocation business where he worked, a similar event had oceutted a few hundred miles southeast. After a long shife a work, a Portsmouth, Va. sanitation depart- ment elercian named Andrew Calpeppe picked up bis toddler son fom his parents, drove home, wene ito the rouse and then fell asleep, forgetting he'd had the boy in the ar, leaving him to bake to deach ouside bis home. Harrison was charged wit a crime. Culpepper was not Incach cae the decision fll © one person. ‘With Harrison, ie vas Ray Morrogh the Fairfax com- smonvteal’s actor. In an interview a few days afer he broughe the chageofivohincary manslghter, Morsogh explained wy. “There i alr 1 be sai for reaffirming peopl’ obli- gations to protec ther children” he said. “When you have chidees, you have responsibiles. am very strong in the defense of children slery” “Morwgh has two kids himself, ages 12 and 14, He was asked if fhe could imagine this ever having happened to him, The question seemed to take im aback, He went on to another subject, and then, 10 minutes later, made up his mind: “Thave aay no, couldn’ have happened 19 me, Tam a watch ful her In Portsmouth, che decision noe to charge Culpepper, 40, was made by Commonvealth’s Attorney Basle Mobly. As erage as the child's death was, Mobley say, a police ievestigation showed that there was no crime because chere was no intent, Culpepper wasnt callous gambling wich the chil’ ife— he had frgstenehecild vwasthere "The easy thing ina case lke thsi to durnp icon ajury, bur that is nor che righe thing todo,” Mabley says. A prosecutors responsibil ity, he says, isco achieve justice, not to sere some sort of scoce not pretty suze [ made the righ decision” he says. “Ym pes- sve made the right decision” ‘There may be no cleat right or wrong in deciding how ro handle ‘cases such as these; in each case, a public servant is trying to do his ‘best witha Solomonic dilemma. Buc public servants are also hurman beings, and they wil inevitably bring to thei judgment che full weight of hat complicated fact. "You know is inreresting wee talking today.” Mobley says. He has five children, Today, he says, isthe birchday of his sixth, “She died of leukemia in 1993, She was anos 3." (0 the coueh, Ballour Mobley pauses. He doesnt want to and her teenage son, crete che wrong impression, {Chvistopher, wath He made the decision on the lw, he Smonli-ald Braiden says, "bur [ aso have some idea what i lay wth toys that feels like, what st does © you, when you belonged to Bryce, lozea child” So, after his son’ death, Andrew Cul- Pepper was sene home to try olive che semainder of his life with what he had done. Afterhis son's death, Miles Harcson was chasged ‘witha felony: His mug shoc was inthe newspapers and on TY, with the haunted, hunted, naked-eyed look these parens always have, up against che wall He hired an expensive lawyer. Over months, both sides developed their cases. Witnesses were assembled and inter- sang | Chetan ne 1)It was unusual: three people together in one place, sharing the same heartbreaking history. All three had accidentally killed their babies in the iden- tical, incomprehensible, modern way. ‘ays, we need an understanding of why ic happens ro he people it happens ‘viewed, Efforts aca plea bargain filed. The ral began TThe court heard how Harrison and his-wife had been & late} 40s childless couple desperately wanting to become parents, and how they’d made three vst to Moscow, setting our each time on a [David Diamond is picking at his breakfast ac 2 Washington hotel, gruclng 10-hour railroad rp o the Russian hintedands co find and ‘trying to explain. dope their 18-monch-old son from an oxphanage bed he'd seldom] | “Memory isa machin,” he sas, “and is not flawless. Our con: been allowed to leave. Harison’s next-door neighbor testified how scious mind prioritizes things by importance, bur ona cellular lve, she'd watched the new father giddy frolic onthe lawn with his son) our memary does not. [F youre capable of forgetting your cellphone, arrion’ site ested how she had worked with her brother and] you are potentially capable of forgectng your child” sister-in-law fo weeks co find he ideal day-care situation for theboy, | Diamond isa professor of molecular physiology a the Univer: who would need special attention to recover from che effects of hid sity of South Flovids and a consultane co che veterans hospital in painfully austere beginnings. “Tampa. He's here fr a national scence conference wo give a speech From the witness stand, Harrisons mother deRanly declared thay about his esearch, which involves the incersection of emocion, sess Mileshad beeo fine sa anda perfec, loving futher Distraught bur and memory: What he's found is thac under some circumstances, composed, Harrison's wife, Carol, described the phone cll chat he the mos sophisticated par of our thought processing center can be Nand Rad aden her sighed dios what ed done] held eae ts ompecing nero yea prime prion of the phone call she'd fielded on a bus coming home from work. Ij ‘the brain thae is — bya design a8 old asthe dinosau’s —inateen- ‘was, she sid, uninelligible screaming tive, pigheaded, nonanalytcal, stupid In che end, Faefax Couney Circuic Cour Judge Diamond is the memory experc with a lousy R. Terence Ney found Miles Harrison not guile. memory, the one who recently realized, while dive There was no crime, he said, cng the identical legal {ng t the mall, chat bis infant granddaughtee was reasons Farle Mobley had cited for not charging An- asleep in the back of the ca. He remembered only drew Culpepper in the Fis place. because his wife, sting beside him, mentioned the ‘Ac the verdict, Harison gasped, sobbed. then baby. He understands what could have happened tied to stand, bu the man had noching left lis eps had he been alone with che child. Almost worse, he bbuckled, and he crashed pathetically wo his knes. vundeestands exactly why. ‘The human bran, he says, is a magnificent buc So, if it's not manslaughter, what is it? AN [ jury-rigged device in which newer and more sophis- acchient? sicaedstrucares sic atop a junk heap of procorype brains al used by lower specks, Ac the top ofthe This is Mark Warschauer, an inernatinally ac- device ate the smartest and mos omble parts the claimed exper in language learning and technology professor of prefrontal eorex, which chinks and analyzes and the hippocam- education a the University of Cafornia t Irvine | psvhich makes and hols on oor immatine memos the “The woe ‘acident’ makes it sound like ic ant be prevented} atom i the basal ganglia, neal denial che brains oflieards Warschauer say, br 'incdan? makes it sound iil. And tis no concelling wluntary bub conscious actions. sev” | Diamond says that ie sinations involving fuss, rouine ‘Warschauer is Fulbright scholar, specializing in the use off motor skill, the human animal presses the basal ganglia ino set Japeops to spread lteacy to children In che summer of 2003, hd vice as asort of auxiliary autopilot. When our prefrontal cortex and returned co his office from lunch to find a crowd surrounding hippocampus are planning our day on the way co work, the igno- 2 cat inthe parking loc Police had smashed the window open! rant btefficint basal ganglia is operating the car; thats why youl with 2 erombae. Only as he got closer did Warschauer elize if sometimes ind yourelf having driven ftom point Ato poins Bwith- § veas his car. That was his fs clue that he'd forgotten to drop) ouca clear recollection ofthe out you wok, the wins you made or his 10-moath-old son, Mikey, a day cate that morning, Mikey, the senery yous was dead. Onlinaly, ays Diamond, chis delegation of duy "works bean- ‘Warschauer wasn’ charged with 2 crime, bur for months afer} fll, ke a symphony. But sometimes, it cuens into the ‘IB12 ward he contemplated suicide. Gadually, esas, che urge subsided Overture’ The cannons cake over and overwhelm.” ino the gif and gil | | Byexpeimenaly exposing cars tothe presence of cats, and then "We ae term fr what tis is” Warschauer ays And alo, ha recording electrochemical changes inthe rodens brain, Diamond 12 tu tatnan te | wane | “No, that’s an imperfect word.” || etait st Re 13{ i | / tao ha se ~ terse hoi —can wen ih bain’ higher funetioning centers, making eh8in more suscepcible co bullying for che basal ganglia, He's seen the same sot of thing play ux in cases he’ fellowed involving infant deaths in cs. "The quality of prior parental care seems to be incelevan.” he] said. "The imporeant factors thar keep showing up involve a combi nation of sess, emotion, lack of sleep and change in routine, where| the basal ganglia is trying to do what is supposed ro do, and the conscious mind i oo weakened to ees. What happens i that the remory circuits in a vulnerable hippocampus iterally get over ten, like with a computer program. Unless che memory circue i rebooted — such aif the child eis, or, you know, ifthe wife mem| tions the chil in the back — itcanencrlydisappeac Diamond ops | "There ia cas in Vieginia where this is exactly what happened, the whole se of sess actos. [was consulted on ita couple of eats ago. [ewas a woman named, ah.” He pues down his fork, searches the ceiling, the wall, che floc, then shakes his head. Hes ben stesing over his con ference speech, he says, and his memory receval is shor. He ean summon the nace. yn Balfour "Yeah, Lyn Balfou! The peefct storm.” 1s mid-October. Ln Balfour is on ter cellohone, ‘ordering a ceplacement strap fora bouncy seat for the new baby and simultaneously crying to arrange for an ‘emergency sce, bocause she as to. get to the frit iy clinic, pronto, because she just go lab results back, and she ovulating and herhusband’sin Iraq, and she ‘wants t get artificially inseminated with his sperm, ike sghe now, but crap, the siter i busy, so she grabs che kid and the keys and the diaper bag and is our the door and inthe ear an ‘gone, Buc now the baby is fussing, so she's eaching ack vo give him, bot of ice, one eye on bim and the other ona seemingly endless scies of aiepin tums that she negotiates adit. “Actually” she laughs, “Te getting beter aboue not doing too! sch atonce. Ive been simplifying my life alc” Raclyn Balfour is what is commonly called a rype-A pessonal- ing. She isthe frst ro adimic thc her temperament contributed othe! death ef her son, Bryce, cwo yeass ago. It happened on March 30, 2007, che day she accidentally left the 9-month-ld in che parking lor of the Chalo jadge advocate generals office, wheres ‘worked as transportation administrator. The high temperature shat dday was only in the 60s, but the biemesrcs and thermodynamics of babies and cas combine mercilessly: Young children have lousy ther smo, and hat bulls uly nce vb inthe wT] ‘temperature in Balfour car that day ropped 110 degrees. 14 eheshngnpit famine | sons 28 Experts recommended that child seats be in the back of the car. If few foresaw the consequence of the lessened visi- bility ... well, who can blame them? What kind of person forgets a baby? a Theres a dsmayingly cartoonish expression for what happened ko Lyn Balfour on March 30, 2007. British psychologist James Rea- 3 coined the teem che “Swiss Cheese Model” in 1990 to explain through analogy why catastrophic failures can secur in organiza kions despite mulkiple ayers of defense. Reason likens the layers to Ices of Swiss cheese, pled upon each och, ive ar six deep. The foes represen small, pocentially insigificanc weaknesses. Things wll coxally collapse only rarely, he says, but when they do, itis by incidence — when all ehe holes happen to align so that chere isa ach through th ene syser, ‘On the day Balfour forgot Bryce in the car she had been up Imuch of the night, ftsebabysiing for a friend ho had 10 take hher dog to an emergency vee clinic, then caring for Bryce, who was fernky with a cold. Because the baby was also tired, he uncharacter- iscically doze in the car, 0 he made no noise, Because Balfour was slanning to bring Bryee's usual car seat to the fire station to be pro- nally insalled, Bryce was posiined ina different car sca that lay, noe behind che passenger but behind the driver, and was thus ‘ot visible in the rearview micror. Because the fani- second car was on loan to 2 relative, Balfour drove har husband ro work chat day, meaning the diaper bag was in the back, noe on the pasenger seat, a5 usta, where she could se it. Because ofa phone conversa sion witha young relative in rouble, and snocher with har bass about a crisis at work, Balfour spent most of the tip on her cel, sessed, solving ocher peoples problems. Because che babysitter had a new phone, it dlida' yer contain Balfour's ofice phone number, only her cll number, meaning that when the ser phoned co wonder why Balfour hadn't dropped Bryce off that mening c ang unheard in Balfour's pocketbook. ‘The holes, all of them, aligned. There is no consent character profile of the parent who does kiscohisorher child. The 13 who weee interviewed for this story in- lde the inrovered and extovered the sweet, the sullen, the stoic land the teeibly Fragile. None ofthote descrpsions exactly fits Lyn Balfour, a 37-year-old Acmy reservist who has served in combat 20nes fand who seers to remain ~~ at least on the subjec of dhe death of son — in bate “I dont feel I need to forgive myself” she says plainly, “because that | did was not intentional” Balfoa stall and stands tale, moving with a purposeful, swing ng side. Shes go a weak chin but a strong mouth that she uses jihout much ediving Shes funny and brassy and in your fice, the or of person you either ike or dont like, right aay. Tchad been Balfour’ idea ro goto the rial of Miles Harrison, and jas she who walked up eo Harcson in the allway during a break, CONTINUED ON PRE 22se. | eBid tone 15Fatal Distraction CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 pushed pasta crowd and threw ber arms around his neck, palling him close. For a ‘moi a full miout, she whispered in his er. His ees grew wider, and then he sobbed into hee should like a baby. Whar she had tld hhim was who she was and that she knows ' hed been a good, loving father, and be muse rote ashamed, Balfour grew up medium-poor in Mich- igan. There was a man she'd Bacn cold was | her father and a close family friend who, | she Laer lexmed, was actually hee father er two se of grandparents wound up di voreing each other, then switching parters There was alcoholism, divorce, a bate for | custody. When Balfour tumed 18, she was ready forthe discipline ofthe Army She served ia Bosnia and ewice in lag, | were she specialized in inclligence anal | ysis and construction management, and where she discovered a sill at juggling @ dozen things at once. She won a Bronze Saar for managing $47 milion in projects without mishying a penny. She got mar | ted, hada son, divorced, met Jarret Balfour and within a month decided this handsome, younger man would be her husband. Eigh teen months later he was. Bryce was theit firs child together. Braiden, conceived with Jaycee’ sperm when he was in Tra. is their second. Toy, in the same way, they ey ing ora did Balfour has stopped atthe fet efinic for her proceduse, and shes now driving 0 the JAG school o demonstae where and how er sons death happened. Down the road co the right is where she dropped Jar rex off at work, which was nor customary. and which she dhotizes pura subconscious check mark in her brain: Delivery made. | Now she pointing out the house of che buabysiter she'd driven obliviously pas as she talked to her boss about a scheduling sna and to her nephew abou helping 0 pay his | gambling debts. And here is the parking lot ofthe JAG school, on the University of Vie ginia Campus. She’ pulling into the same spot she was paded in chat diy the place where Bryce died | “Tews ke thi excep ese eo poe next to us were empry” she noes blandly ax | she gets out ofthe ear, gathers ber keys and | Tans into gee the disper ba OTe an alse pugacious mat | offacenes about Lyn Balfour thar can seem ' disconcerting, particlaiy if you have a preconception about how apetson inher cir ‘cumstances is supposed to face the world. You mighe expect, for example, that she hhas gocten another cat But this black Hooda Piloc with the pink Tinkerbell stering wheel cover is the same car Beyce died in, juse inches from where Balfour is bending over Braiden o unscrap im “le didnt make financial sense to ger a ew ca he a. Balfour’ eyes are impasive. Her atiude isdear: ‘You gota problem with hac? Not all cases of fnfant_ hyperthermia in cars are like the ones this article i about: simple if bewildering lapses of mem- ony by an otherwise apparently good parent. In other types of cases, there is a history of prior neglect, or evidence of substance abuse Sometimes, thé parent knowingly lef che child inthe cs, despite che obvious pei. In one parcculry egregious instance, a mosher used her locked car a an inexpensive substi- ‘ue fr day ear. When hyperchermia deaths are treated ag crimes; hese ate the ones that tendo result in prison senences. CascslikeLym Balfour’, when prosecuted, typically end in some sre of compromise: plea to a reduced charge, sometimes with probation and a suspended sentence, some- times with community service. Goingall he way to til ia eatve rai, ‘Whar happened ro Balfour was even rater She was charged ooe with manslaugh- cer bucwith second-degree murdes, carrying a possible prison sentence of up to 40 years. ‘And as a condition of remaining free on bond, che court prohibited her feom being alone with any minors, inchuding her own ‘eenage son. So Balfour hired John Zweting, a top-gun criminal defense lawyer from Alex andria. That meant that Jaerete Balfour an employee of a ehlian military consracor, had na choice bur to take an asigament in Trag, The extra combar pay would be needed for legal expenses. Lyn Balfour would have to fice this alone ‘Thais when she began to move past grief and guilt and paralyzing sl€doubt toa very specific, very focused anger. John Zveting presents a passable version of Nero Wolfe, Rex Siours portly, eccenric genius hero of detective fiction. Zsvering’s Taw offices are in a handsome Old Town ‘ownhouse with dark walnut molding and stare wooden shutters The boss isthe guy ‘with che Santa beard sting in che chair with bole the leather in jeans anda shirt with ‘big sain, che fone buttons laboring might ily wdo cherjobweting’s fist tsk, he says, was © make the «ase that second-degree owurder was a preposterous charge in a case lacking coven che faintest whispe of incent. That, he di, After a peliminary heasing, the charge was reduced co iovohintary manslaughter. Zuresling’s second. and more dauncing, job was to craft a defense fora case that was boeing prosecuted with what «dimes seemed like seatrcal ze exe is how Asitane Commenwealth’ Arcorney Elizabeth Killeen would sum it up before che jury: "This lle boy's ie did not have 10 end this way, on a hospital gurney. Decened, Dead. His fe squandered, and™ one forever” Tn the end, Zoerting had one key deci sioe to make. In criminal cases, jurors wane hea from che defen dan, Zserling liked and respected Balfou, but should he pur her on the stand? “Hlave you met her” he asks Yes “Then youve seen that mental girdle she purs on, the proreccve armor against the wodld, how she closes up and becomes a soldier. fe helps her survive, bu it can seen off pacing if youre someone who ‘want © see how crushed she is” Zaealing decided not w ris “Trwound up prting her on che stand in a different way” he says, “so people could sce the real Lyn — vulnerable, with no guile, no posturing ‘What Zuesling did vas play two audiotape for che jury. One ‘was Balfour inerrogation by po- lice in the hospital about an hour afer Bryce’ death; her answers ase immeasurably sad, almost uineelligi- bie, balf sob, half whisper: Tkilled my baby.” she says tcemalousl. “Ob, God, Tm so sorry ‘The seeond tape was a «all 911 made by a pass ey, in chose Gest few seconds fier Balfour dis covered the body and beseeched a stranger cosummon hep. Zwetling swivels to his computer, punches up an audio fle "Want co hear” 5 alfour is reonacting her movements 5 from thc day afer work She walks fom I hereubice in room 153A of che TAG school, ‘out to che font of the building. By mid- Balfour say, “ke a porcelain dol afternoon she had finally checked her cell Te was seconds later that the passerby and discovered she'd missed an early mom- called 911 ing cal from her babysitter. She called back, ft goconly oie mal dri worry hr The tape tunendurable, Mostly you hear She and the babysiter were frends, and a woman’s voice, ense uc precise, explain hey alked often abouc all sorts of things. ing to pelice dispatcher what she i secing Balfour lft a message asking for a callback. Inia. there’s nohing in the background. Iccamewhen she was standing whereshe Then Balfour howls at the top of her lungs, {is now, on a spacious stone patio in font of “OH, MYGOD, NOOOOr the JAG school, heading oward the parking Then, fora few seconds, nothing lot. As it happens chee isa Civil Warera Then’ a deafening. shriek: “NO, NO, cannon thavis aimed, with unsettling irony, PLEASE, NO" exacly where she srands “Three more seconds, then: The babysicer asked Balfour where “PLEASE, 1D, NO, PLEASE” Teyce as, Balfour seid: “Whar do you Whar is happening is char Balfour is swan? He’ with you. adminisering CPR. At that moment, she Todd Costello of Medina, Ohio, with wite Melody and daughters Kasey, 5, and Emily, 10. Costello lost his son, Tle, in 2002 after forgetting the 9-monthold inthe back of his ear in his office parking lot, He's had to finda way to ive with the gu “On that morning,” he says, “had to make brief trips from butding ‘to building, and took me past my car. But from that positon, ‘yu coulda’t se int the car It was just a ball of windshield gare. "now that is a fact. But in my dreams, that scenario changes alittle. 1 can See my som in the ca. I wave, and I say,‘ be right back, Tyler?” Ieis 60 feet wo the end ofthe patio, then recalls, she fl ike ewo people occupying 4 sarwell wth LE seps down, then ewo one body: Lyn, che erisply efficient certified stepsacross, then asecond stairwell, 12 steps combat lifesaver, and Lyn, the incompetent down, one more off the curb and chen a 30- mother who would never again know happi- foc sprint ro the cat. Balfour estimates che ness. Breathe, compres, breathe, compres. whole thing took half a minute or less. She Each time that she came up for at, she lost knew twas too lat when, chrough che win i Then, back to the patient. dow, se saw Bryce’ limp hand, and then Aer hearing this che jury de- his face, unmarked buc lifless and shiny, liberated forall of 90 minutes, including ences | etait Rsne 23time for lunch, The noe guilty verdict wad “1 dint fol this case should over been brought” says juror Colin Rose, retired radio cxcucive. “ke may have been negligence, but icwas an honest mistake” | “Jury foreman James Schlochaver, an in spections offical fr che county government doesnt faul the prosecution; Balfour’ case was complex, he say, and the fies neided an airing Bue the fics, he say, ako adel the verdict a slam dunk, Te was “a big dog gone scien” he sya, dat might hae happened o anyone “To anyone? Schlothsuer hesitates. "Wat ichappened © me The results were not caasrophic Schlothauer says, but the undedying mal function was similar: Busy and stressed, he] and his wife once go shir cesponsibils confused, and neither stopped at day caze fo ‘thee daughter atthe end ofthe day 2 We both gor home, and c was, ‘Wa whee’ Lil? choughe you got er? thought you gore ® ‘Whar ifthat mixup had happened athe beginning ofthe day? "To anyone” Schlothauer says There fs no national clesinghouse for cases of infant hyperthermia, so gover sent agency charged with data collection and overigheThe cost thing is inthe Basement office of «comfortable home in suburban Kancss Cty, Kan, where a fora ter sles and macketing excextive named Janeste Fennell rune 2 nonprofc organiza} tion called Kids and Care. Kids and C lobbies for increased ca safety for childs, and assuch maintains one ofthe saddest de tabases in Americ Fennel ison sofa, her bare fc ucked! under her, lefing chough fies. Amber) her colege intern, walks up and plops fxxof a new wire ervice sory onthe able, “Frontover” Amber ss. "Parking lo, Notch Carolina ; “There a grisly serinology co this busi cvs, “Backovers" happen when you look in the earview mitt and fl 10 see tht ik behind the car, or never lol tall rontovers ocr almost excel with pickups and SUV, where the diver sis bigh off the ground. Thee are “power win! dow strangulation nd tars pin moxion byl” an, aly, "hypechermia na colage on Fennell wall are snap shots of dozens of infants and toddlers, samel poualy holding up fingers 2 ifsayng “Tim 24 Gettin Dot Maine | 2° Or "Tm 3” The photos, typical, are from chee final birthdays. Fennell has met or talked with many of the patents in the hyperthermia cases, and some now work with her organization, She doesn't sec her out. They find her name, often late a night, lepessly searching che ‘Web fr some sign that thre are others who have lived in the same hell and survived There isa general misconception, Fennell «says, about who these people are: "They tend to be the doting parents, the kind who buy baby locks and safecy gates” These cares, she says, are lures of memory, noc of love ~ Fennell has an expression thats half smile, half wince She uss i often, ‘Some people think, ‘Okay. I can see forgetting a child for ewo minutes, boe tat eight hours? What they don't under- stand is thatthe parent in his of her mind has dropped off the baby ac day care and thinks the baby is happy and well saken care of Once that’ in your braa, there is no reason eo worry or check on the baby for the rest of che day” Lyn Balfour has served in combat Zones and seems to remain in battle. “I don’t feel I need to forgive myself,” she says plainly, “because what | did was not intentional.” Del | seb retin pr in tis eype of ease is both cruel and point Jess: les aot as though the ar of «prison cotence is what wil kesp « parent from ling this ‘The answer othe problem, Fennell be licwes, le in improved ca sfery fearres ind in increased publi awareness chat this can happen, chat the resus ofa momentary spe of memory can be horrifying |" Wiiasthe worse case she knows of? | “done really like co.” she say. | She looks away: She won't hold eye con. hace fo his |The child pulled all her hair ouc before be dlied” For years, Fenoell has been lobbying foe law requving back-seae sensors i new ‘ar, sensors that would sound an alam fa childs weight remained inthe sear afer the ‘ignition is turned off. Last year, she almost succeeded, The 2008 Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transporcaton Safety Act —— which requires safety improvemenes in power windows and in rar wisbiley, and protec tions aguinst a child accidenclly setting car in motion — originally had a rear seat sensor tequizement, too. It never made che fina bill sponsors withdrew it fearing they couldn ge it pas a powerful auto mane- factuces lobby There are a few afermarke products that alert a parent if a chikd remains in a car that has been turned off These prod vets are nor huge sellers. They have likely fun up against the same marketing prob- lem thae confronted three NASA engineers afewyears ago. ‘mn 2000, Chris Edwards, Terry Mack and Edward Modlin began to work on just such a product after one of cheit cok leagues, Kevin Shelton, accidentally left bis 9-monch-old son to di in che parking Jot of NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The inventors pa ‘ented a device wich weight sensors and a keychain alarm. Based on aerospace technology, ic was easy to use i was relatively cheap, and it worked Janeces Fennell had high hopes for this product: The duamatic narrative behind it, she elt, and the face that ie came from NASA, created a likelihood of widespread publicity and public acceptance. That was five yats ago. The device still isn't on the shelves, The inventors could not find & commercial partner willing 10 manufacture ic. One big. peob- lem was lability. Ifyou made it, you could face enormous lawsuits iit malfunctioned and a child died. Buc another big problem was prychological: Markecing studies sug- gested ic wouldnt sll well, The problem i this simple: People think this could never happen to therm. “‘l was that guy, before, I'd read the sto vies and go, Wha were those parents thinking?” Mikey Tear sa contactor fom May- pad, Tex, «big man with sofreyes. Ar the torent he alized what he'd done he #28 in che cab ofa truck and his month-old dlaugher, Mika, was ina dosed vehicle in the boing Texas sun ina parking le 40 miles sway So his fami pine to the cat veascondcted ¢ 100 miles an hon 3 30-fooe gooseneck miler hauling. thousands cof pounds of humber the sizeof telephone poles ‘On that day in June 2005, Terry had ben secenly laid off, and he'd caken a day jb building a wal in the auditorium of a Catholic church just ouside of town. He'd remembered to drop his older daughter ar day care, butas he was driving the baby toa diferent day care locaton, he gocacal about «anew permanent job. This ally caught his tention. ewas fara distraction “Terry, 35, wasne charged with a crime. His punishment has ben more subce. ‘The Tertys are Southern Baptists, Belore™ ‘Mika death, Mikey Terry says, church used to be every Sunday, all day Sunday, morn ing Bible seady chrough evening meal. He and his wife, Michele, dont go much any- ‘more. soa confusing, he sys, "T feel guilty about everyone in church talking about how blessed we ll ae. I dont feel blessed anymore. I feel I have been ‘wronged by God, And that {have wronged God, And I dorit know how oo deal with that Four yeas have passed, but he sill wont go nea the Catholic church he'd been work- Jngat that day. As his daughter died ouside, he was inside, building a wall on which ‘would hang an enormous crucifix | ‘This Isa case of pure evil negligence of the worse Kind .. . He deserves the death “L wonder if this was his way of telling his wife thache dat rally want kid” “He was too busy chasing after real e= ‘ate commisions. This shows how morally corrupe people in eal estatetlaed profes ‘These were seades' online comments to ‘The Washington Post news article of july 10, 2008, reporting the cicumstances of the seach of Miles Harsison’s son, These com. ments were rypcal of many ochers, and they are pica of whar happens aain and agin, year alee year in community aftr commu: nig, when these cases aise. A substantial proportion of the public reacts not metely ‘vith anger. bue with frothing veo Ed Tickling believes he knows why Hickling isa clinical psychologic from Al bary, Ni, who has studied the effects of fatal au accidents on the drivers who sure vive them. He says chese people are often judged with disproportionate harshness by the pull, even when ic was dearly an ac- cident, and even when it was indisputably ‘ot cei fale Humans, Hickling said, have a fin damental need to create and maiotain narrative for their lives in which the uni verse is not implacable and heartless, rele things do-nor happen at random, and that caastophe can be avoided if you axe vigilane and responsible. In hyperthermia cases, he believes, the cents aze demonized for much che same reasons. “We are vulnerable, bur we don't ‘want to be reminded of tha, We wane believe chat che world ie underseandable and controllable and unchreatening, cat if| we fallow the cules, we'll be okay. So, when this kindof ching happens to other people, we need o pur them ina differene category from us. We dont want w resemble chem, and the face that we might is too terrifying to deal with. So, chey have to be monsters” ‘After Lyn Balfours acquittal, cis com- ment appeared on the Charlottesville News Web sit “If she had too many things on her mind then she should have kepe her legs closed and not had any kids. They should lock her in a ear during a hot day and sce what happens” lym Batfour's Ruckersrille home is fra- ‘rant with spice candles and che fsiruly sweet feel of Kitch. Braiden boings hap- pily in a baby bouncer, che same one Bryce had, and crawls on a patchwock comforter tharhad been Bryce’ 00. As Balfour sex messaging Jaret in Iraq, she's checking out Braiden diaper, multitasking as always “People say Im strong woman.” Balfour says, "but not Iesjust char when [gieve, I grieve alone “The pacifier pops out of Braden’ mouth Balfour rinses it, pops it back in, “because deep down I feel I don't Ihave the right o grieve infront of thers" Balfour says she has carefully crafted the face she shows the world “Lwould like to disappear, ro move some place where no one knows who [ am and what I did. I would do that in a hearbeae, bbue [cant have to say my name, m the lady who killed hee chil, and I have to be that lady because | promised Bryce” The promise, she says, came as she held hr son’ body in ce hospital.“ kissed him fo the last time, and I cold hien how soery 1 was, and [said [would do everthing in my power to make sure chis will never happen to another child” Balfour has done this in a way suited vo her personality: she has become a modern, maternal version of the Ancient Mariner, fiom time co time brazenly bellying up + strangers in places such as Sarvs Chub and WAYS TO HELP PREVENT A TRAGEDY Several prod ucts are available ‘oremind a par- entifa child seat afer the car's tumed off ‘One of the more popular is Cars~ N-Kids Car Seat ‘Monitor, which ums of upon sensing 2 child's ‘weight and sounds a lullaby when the car has stopped; it retails for about $40 and is available online. The CareNKids (Car Seat Monitor. KidsAndCars.org, an adw- cacy group for cid vehicle safety, Urges some basle measures to pre- vent the tragedy cf children being inadvertently left n vehicles: > Always put something youll need {for work — coliphone, handbag, ‘employee badge, etc. —- on the floor ofthe back seal, near the child » Keepa large teddy bear in the childs car seat when i's not 0° cupied. When the . child i placed in the seat, put the teddy bear up front inthe passenger seat. I's a visual reminder that any- time the teddy bear ‘Sin the passen- ier seat, the end '5 inthe back » Make arrange- ‘ments with your chit’s day-care provider or babysitter that you wil ‘always cal them if your chi wil rot be there on a particular day as scheduled. Ask them to al- ways phone you if your child does rot show up when expected, usc 200 | Cetin Bt Be 25seating a conversation about children, s she cord ofthe death ofa completely defenseless ~ and helpless infane ‘Acer a half-day hearing, che ge euled for the coramonwealth, saying Balfour had failed vo prove that she would suffer aman ifestinjusice” if the cour cecords remained unsealed. Afterward, Balfour calmly answered questions from the news media, as always. She was unemorional, unapologetic, on message. She wil consider an appeal She ‘ill continue co speak out for greater public™ awareness of the dangers of leaving children alone in cars. She sounded, as always, usta lil bie cold Jaren alfour finally made it home, afer 18 monchs in. rag, wher his job was toanalyze seized explosive devices maée by insurgents and try to identify their tec: nology and trace ther origin. He extended his tour of dury wice, as the legal bills kepe amounting, Jatt is 30. He's eal, lanky and sttikingly handsome, wich sandy hair brushed sraigh back. He looks lke a man Miles and Carl Harrison, who had adopted ‘ther som from Russa, comfort eachother ‘outslde Chase's mursery door. leaoing into astong-vind. Initially ater be gor home, Jaret says, things were awkward, with “hiccups” in communication, He would make an innoe- uous staement about something Braiden vwasdoing, and Lyn would overreact, asf he ‘were second-guessng her parenting skill les getting bere, he sys Braiden is 914 months ol, exactly the age Bryce was when he died. Ly has been having nightmares again, Just before the tragedy, she had ovo dlreams chat seem t0 het, in rerospect, like foreboding, In one, she accidenaly drowned Bryce; in the other. it was death by fire, Balfour believes these dreams were sent by God to help prepare her for what she was about to endure, Recently she dreamed she los control of Braiden’ stroller, and it rolled our into raf fic. No, she doesn' chink it’s the same thing hhapperingagain, “L couldnt cake it agso,” Jae says guiedy. So, there are xersions. They ate working i out. Both of them say they ae confident this macriage wil last. Aer Jaze leaves for work, Lyn ealks about howe mach the presence of Braiden has helped ther heal. She considers her family blesed because theyve been able to hhave other childeen: ‘Can you imagine losing your only child and sor having 4 hope of having another? Can you imagine tat despa ‘Thats why, she says shes made a deci sion. She's checked it out, and ic would be legal. There would be no way for any a thority to stop it because it would fll into the class of private adoption. Shed need a sperm donor and an eg donor, because she woulda ware to use her own egg. That ‘would make ictoo personal ‘Whats she saying, exactly? Miles and Carol Harrison deserve an- other child, Bafa: explains measured They would be wonderful paren Thisis the woman you étherlikeor done like, righe avay. She s brassy and song willed and, depending on your viewpoint, refreshingly open or abrasively forward Above ll, she is decisive Balfour says shes made up her mind. If Miles and Carol Hartson ate denied an- ther adoption, if they exhaust all heir options and acai without a baby, she will offerto carry oneforshem, asagife ‘Gene Weingart staff tr forthe Magazine He ca be reached at weingarten@ wastyostcom, Stat researcher Mle Sith contributed to this ate suse. | eatin Det Magee 27