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Father Charged With Criminal Homicide After Leaving 11-Month-Old Daughter in Hot Car While Working

Travis McCullough handed the unconscious infant to a stranger and drove away.

A couple in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been arrested and charged in connection of the death of their 11-month-old daughter, who died after being left in a hot car, reported ABC 7.

Travis McCullough, 30, and Jessica Tollett, 24, were taken into police custody on Sunday in after the baby died on Saturday, said police.

According to an arrest affadavit, the baby girl and McCullough's two other children, ages 2 and 5, were in the car while McCullough, 30, worked at his father's restaurant, reported ABC. McCullough went to the Buffalo Shack to get money from his father, who insisted he put in hours for the cash.

Police said McCullough’s father insists he had no idea the children were in the car and he has sent his son home on previous occasions when he tried to leave the children in the car while he worked.

When McCullough got back to the car, he saw the infant was unconscious and screamed for help. A woman told police she was driving by the restaurant when she heard him call for help. When she got out of her car, he "tossed the lifeless victim, who was completely unclothed, into her arms and fled the scene," the affidavit stated according to the Chattanooga Free Press.

Chattanooga police spokeswoman Elisa Myzal said the two surviving children showed signs of neglect, malnutrition and possible abuse, with visible bruising and cuts. The children were hospitalized and will be released into the custody of Child Protective Services.

Investigators searched the family's apartment and called conditions "atrocious," with one room covered in feces and urine. The refrigerator in the home was empty.

McCullough was charged with criminal homicide and three counts of aggravated child neglect. He is being held on a $1 million bond. Tollett was charged with three counts of aggravated child abuse and neglect and is being held on $300,000 bond. 

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