Trial Opens in Toddler Heat Death

Jury selection is began Tuesday for the death of a toddler left in a hot minivan for hours outside a suburban Philadelphia day care center last summer.

Forty-seven-year-old Rimma Shvartsman is charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. Authorities say she left 2-year-old Daniel Slutsky outside her Fairy Tales Daycare Center in Penndel, Bucks County, on July 1.

Prosecutors say that although Shvartsman did not intentionally leave Daniel behind, her actions were criminally negligent. Officials say that the 29-pound toddler’s body temperature was 108 degrees when he was found.

Shvartsman’s lawyer has said she forgot the child due to stress, lack of sleep, and concern about a medical problem.

The boy’s parents have filed a lawsuit against the day care center.

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