A Berne couple appeared in court Wednesday on charges of neglect of a dependent after a two-year-old was found dead in a room with temperatures of up to 43C. (Image: Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office.)
The parents of a toddler from Indiana have been accused of leaving their daughter in a closet with a space heater, causing temperatures to rise up to 109 degrees Fahrenheit, resulting in her tragic death. Sintia Perez, 21, and Jace Hirschy, 23, were arrested on November 27, 2024, and charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a level one felony in Indiana, as well as two counts each of neglect of a dependent, a level six felony.
The couple allegedly left their young daughter in the closet with a space heater, which heated the room to between 85 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit, leading to the 2-year-old girl’s death from hyperthermia, confirmed by an autopsy. The girl’s body temperature was 109.4 degrees (43C) when measured at the scene, according to court documents obtained by WANE.
Berne Police Department responded to Swiss Meadows Apartments just before 3.30pm on November 27, following calls about a death investigation. On arrival, officers found Perez and Hirschy along with their other two children, aged 5 and 3, in a home filled with rubbish, making it difficult to navigate.
Cockroaches were reportedly found in the home, along with a pot on the stove filled with mould and flies. A police officer discovered a closet where a 2-year-old was sleeping on a soiled mattress, according to court documents,
The officer noted a significant temperature difference between the bedroom and the closet. The toddler, dressed only in a nappy, had a discoloured body and there were faeces in the corner of the room.
The couple, Sintia Perez and Jace Hirschy were arrested on Nov. 27, and charged with 1 count of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony, 1 count of Neglect of a Dependent, a Level 6 Felony and another count of Neglect of a Dependent, a Level 6 Felony.In court documents provided by Adams Circuit Court, the Berne Police Department responded to Swiss Meadows Apartments on November 27 just before 3.30pm on calls for a death investigation (Image: Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office.)
Perez admitted to putting the child to bed around 7 pm the previous night, turning on a space heater and almost closing the door. She didn’t wake until 12:30pm the next day, and it’s reported that neither parent checked on the child until after 3pm, when they found her dead.
The other two children were taken into custody by the Department of Child Services, both reportedly infested with lice. Perez and Hirschy are currently detained in Adams County Jail, with a pretrial conference scheduled for February 14 and their jury trial set for March 7, 2025.
They were charged with 1 count of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, a Level 1 Felony, 1 count of Neglect of a Dependent, a Level 6 Felony and another count of Neglect of a Dependent (Image: Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office.)