A Florida dad was sentenced to spend more than four decades in prison after he left his 18-month-old son to die in his hot truck as he got a haircut and a drink at a bar.<\/p>\n
The Office of the State Attorney 7th Judicial Circuit announced in a press release<\/a> that Scott Gardner entered no contest pleas to second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm during a hearing on Thursday, July 23.<\/p>\n A judge then sentenced Gardner, 34, to 42 years in prison for the crimes.<\/p>\n Gardner was sentenced after he left his son, Sebastian, in his truck while he got a haircut and then drank at a bar in Ormond Beach, Florida, on June 6, 2025.<\/p>\n Toddler Who ‘Wandered Into Road’ While Following Dad Outside Killed by Drunk Driver<\/a><\/p>\n Sebastian was seated in the backseat of the truck with the windows down and no air conditioning, and he only had a small, battery-powered fan pointed at him while Gardner got his hair cut at Classic Cuts and Hanky Panky’s Lounge, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood confirmed in a news briefing<\/a> shortly after Gardner’s arrest.<\/p>\n The State Attorney said in their press release that “medical personnel estimated the child’s body temperature had reached 111 degrees [Fahrenheit] and he had been dead for at least an hour by the time he arrived at the hospital.”<\/p>\n The Volusia Sheriff’s Office and the Ormond Beach Police Department launched an investigation into the boy’s death, and it was determined that Gardner lied to detectives about what happened.<\/p>\n Gardner was eventually arrested almost two weeks after his son’s death on June 19, 2025.<\/p>\n “There is no cause for celebration in resolving this case,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in the release. “An 18-month-old child suffered greatly and died while in the custody and care of his father.”<\/p>\n Larizza continued, “The father chose to drink and get a haircut instead of loving and protecting his son. A totally vulnerable and defenseless child died because of the selfish vanity of his dad.”<\/p>\n Sebastian’s mother, Lorena Dague, shared insight into who her son was and how his death impacted her in a victim impact statement during the sentencing.<\/p>\n