YORK COUNTY, Va. — A woman is charged with felony murder after an 11-month-old child was left in a car for hours and died last year.
On Sept. 12, 2023, 40-year-old Kristen Danielle Graham was arrested on one count of felony child neglect and one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty because a baby and dog in her care died after being left inside a hot car for roughly six hours, according to investigators.
Graham had driven with the 11-month-old, Myrical Wicker, and the dog to take cigarettes and apple juice to a friend in Newport News, according to Sheriff Montgomery. When she returned from her errands, Graham rolled up the windows of her car with the child and dog inside, went into her house and went to sleep.
She was woken up by a phone call later in the afternoon and found Myrical and the dog deceased, according to the sheriff.
When she was first arrested, she told officials that she had no recollection of the events leading up to the infant and dog's death beyond pulling into the driveway and turning off the car, according to the arrest warrants.
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11-month old & dog left in hot car both die; York Co. woman arrested: Sheriff
The warrant also detailed that Graham told officials she had taken Gabapentin, a pain medication, before leaving for Newport News.
Myrical was brought to Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in a trash bag by another person who is not facing charges, according to the sheriff. Deputies found the dead dog in a bathtub.
Watch full press release from the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office on Sept. 14, 2023:
The Chief medical Examiner's Office recently released the autopsy report for Myrical and based on the results, the sheriff's office got a warrant charging Graham with felony murder, according to the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say that Graham turned herself in to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and is being held without bond.
