Tiffany Huff Holmes (Polk County Jail)
The mother of a 3-year-old boy who was found dead inside a garage in Bondurant, Iowa, has turned herself in and now faces a felony charge connected to the child’s death.
Tiffani R. Huff Holmes, 41, surrendered at the Polk County Jail late Sunday, Dec. 21, and was charged with child endangerment resulting in death, a class B felony, according to a statement released Monday by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The charge stems from a June 28 incident in which deputies and Bondurant EMS were dispatched to a residence after receiving a report of an unresponsive child. Despite life-saving efforts, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Court records and a search warrant application filed in August indicate the child likely died from overheating after being left in a closed garage during hot weather. The high temperature that day reached 91 degrees, according to AccuWeather.
When Holmes called 911, she told dispatchers that her son’s lips were blue, the search warrant states. She initially found him inside the garage and then carried him into the house, where she attempted CPR as instructed by emergency dispatchers.
Holmes later told investigators that she had taken a nap and, upon waking, found her son sitting in a folding lawn chair inside the garage. She said the overhead garage door was shut at the time. According to investigators, Holmes described the child as “hot to the touch” and “extremely sweaty,” prompting her to bring him inside in an effort to cool him down.
She was unable to recall what time she went to sleep and said she woke up approximately five to ten minutes before calling 911. The child’s father arrived at the home after being notified of the emergency and provided additional information to investigators.
He told deputies that Holmes had struggled with alcohol abuse for roughly five years and was not permitted to have alcohol in the house. During a search of the residence, deputies found a mostly consumed bottle of vodka.
Investigators noted they were unable to draw Holmes’ blood for testing because she allegedly admitted she drank vodka after the child’s death. The father also told authorities that the child did not normally go into the garage and could not open doors on his own.
Investigators later discovered the garage door was broken and had to be manually lifted. Holmes is currently being held on a $1 million bond as the case proceeds through the court system. No further court dates have been announced.
