Autopsy delayed for baby girl believed left alone in car in Caldwell
The autopsy, expected to determine what killed the 5-month-old Saturday afternoon, will be held Tuesday morning, the Canyon County Coroner’s Office reports.
The autopsy had initially been expected Monday, but it was delayed by a conflict in the pathologist’s schedule, a spokesman said.
Elisa Johnson told the Statesman that it was her baby, Kyrae Vineyard, who died; the baby’s father was Gavyn Vineyard. She declined further comment Monday.
Caldwell police are investigating the death, but they are basically “in a holding pattern” until the autopsy, Lt. Dave Wright said Monday morning.
It is unclear how long the child, secured in a car seat, was left unattended in the car with the windows rolled up before she was discovered, unresponsive, shortly after 4 p.m., Wright said.
Temperatures on Saturday afternoon reached about 74 degrees by the time the child was found. Police and the coroner have said they can’t determine whether heat was a factor in the infant’s death until an autopsy is performed.
Police responded to the 4000 block of Cleveland Boulevard after someone called 911 to report the infant had been left in a vehicle there and didn’t have a pulse. Police arrived to find the child unresponsive, and she was declared dead at a local hospital.
Officers have interviewed the man who was taking care of the child that afternoon. No arrest has been made. Police have not identified the man nor specified the relationship between the man and the child.
The person who called 911 was not the caretaker, Wright said; police aren’t saying anything further at this point about who it was or about other details of the report.
The spot on busy Cleveland Boulevard where the car was parked is near an auto dealership, just west of Lake Avenue.
If you know something that might help the investigation, call Crime Stoppers at 208-343-COPS, 343cops.com or by using the free P3 tips app for iOS or Android.
This story was originally published May 20, 2017 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Autopsy delayed for baby girl believed left alone in car in Caldwell."