Baby Dies After Being Left Next to Space Heater, Two Arrested

An undated stock image of an infant. (Christiana Bella/Pixabay)

A 5-month-old boy found dead at a Georgia home had died after being left next to a space heater, said officials, who later arrested the mother and her boyfriend on murder charges.

Jalicia Aquanetta Kent, 28, and Quantious Trenard Hodges, 30, were questioned by sheriff’s officials before they were charged with homicide in the case, authorities told the Macon Telegraph. The baby boy, Imir Kent, was found dead at the scene at 7 a.m., Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said.

“It was reported that Kent’s 5-month old son was placed in front of a space heater at approximately 10:00 p.m. on March 9, 2020 and was never checked on by either subject,” Bibb County sheriff’s officials told the paper.

The baby was allegedly left unattended in a car seat, said officials.

Chief Coroner Leon Jones told WMAZ that the boy was found dead at a home in Macon on Tuesday. Three people, including the child’s 28-year-old mother, were home at the time, but Jones said it isn’t clear who made the 911 call.

“The mother was in another bedroom and supposedly the baby got out of the car seat onto an electric heater,” Jones told the Telegraph, adding that the boy suffered multiple burns.

Hodges was the one who found the boy, officials told WMAZ.

The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and Division of Family and Children Services are investigating the case.

The baby boy’s mother, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s brother lived in the home, according to officials.

An autopsy is scheduled in the case.

Anyone with information can call the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.