BRADENTON, FL – Tragedy struck Manatee County as a 6-year-old girl died from what authorities believe to be severe heat exposure after being left in a hot car. A local man, Markise Outing, 24, is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter in relation to the child’s death.

On May 20, first responders attended to the young girl, who was unresponsive upon her arrival at a nearby fire station. Outing, reported to be the boyfriend of the girl’s mother, conveyed her there in a critical state. Unfortunately, hospital efforts to save her life were unsuccessful, and she passed away that evening with a recorded core body temperature exceeding 107 degrees.

Despite Outing’s initial account that the child had overheated after playing in a park, law enforcement officers suggest a different sequence of events. Authorities assert that after picking up the girl from school, Outing left her in his parked car for an extended period, during which time the vehicle’s interior temperature likely soared to around 115 degrees, contributing to the child’s death.

An autopsy confirmed hyperthermia as the cause of death, and officials are now awaiting a toxicology report to finalize the investigation. Outing was apprehended and charged on June 25. He is presently detained at the Manatee County Jail as the case advances.

Currently, the specifics of his legal representation and plea are unknown as the community mourns the loss of a young life taken too soon by what seems to be a preventable occurrence.