Woman charged after 7-month-old foster child dies in hot minivan

Jeff Monheit,
Djuna Bostick is charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after the death of a baby left in a hot minivan.

Djuna Bostick is charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after the death of a baby left in a hot minivan.

HAMLET, NC – A baby left inside a minivan in Hamlet died from exposure to excessive heat, according to police.

Officers were called to a home on Charlotte Street for a medical emergency around 6 pm on Monday and found the seven-month-old baby unresponsive.

The child’s foster mother, Djuna Bostick, was arrested and booked into the Richmond County Jail and received a $500,000 bond.

The 59-year-old is charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse – willful act or omission causing serious bodily injury.

According to an arrest warrant, investigators say Bostick left the baby in her 2017 Toyota Sienna Van for an unknown period of time with the outside temperature at approximately 90 degrees.

According to court records, Bostick posted bond on Tuesday. She also received a court appointed attorney. Bostick is scheduled to appear in court June 23rd.