by A Utah mother is facing felony child neglect charges after allegedly locking her crying 2-year-old daughter in a sweltering SUV so she could watch a movie uninterrupted, according to local authorities.
Tripura Merriex, 18, was arrested Saturday after Lake City police responded to a call about a distressed child left alone in a 2002 Cadillac Escalade parked outside Regal Cinemas. Temperatures had soared to 94°F with a heat index of 107°F at the time.
According to the Lake City Police Department, officers arrived to find the toddler “sweating profusely and crying in distress.” They broke through a window to rescue the child, who was found strapped in a car seat. The toddler was evaluated and has since recovered, family members told local media.
Merriex, who had brought her younger brother and sister to see Smurfs, reportedly removed her child from the theater after the toddler began crying and disrupting the movie. Rather than leave the cinema, she allegedly placed the toddler in the parked vehicle and returned inside.
Witnesses, including a Regal Cinemas employee, told investigators that Merriex stayed inside the air-conditioned theater and sent her siblings to “check on the baby” while she continued watching the movie.
When confronted by officers, Merriex appeared “nonchalant,” police said, claiming she had “just forgotten” the child in the car.
Authorities were not convinced. “This was not a mistake — this was a decision,” one officer told reporters, emphasizing that the child could have died within minutes in such extreme heat.
Merriex remains in custody at the Columbia County Jail on felony child neglect charges. Her daughter is now safe and in the care of relatives.
According to the National Safety Council, at least 15 children have died from vehicular heatstroke in the U.S. so far this year. On average, 37 children die annually after being left in hot cars — often due to forgetfulness or lack of awareness.
