Juana Perez-Domingo
A woman has been accused of leaving a toddler in a hot car, where the victim died. Juana Perez-Domingo, 43, was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on Saturday for a count of aggravated manslaughter of a child under 18, online records show. The child was identified by her mother as Jocelyn Mendez, according to Local 10.
She was supposed to drive the 2-year-old girl to daycare in the city of Homestead, police said in an Associated Press report. The facility was not open yet, and Perez-Domingo took the child to her own home, officers said. The account is that she became distracted and forgot about the girl. She returned to the vehicle seven hours later, officers said. According to cops, Perez-Domingo, who did not have a driver’s license, called the girl’s mother and brought the toddler to the woman’s home. The 2-year-old died by this point, officers said.
Jocelyn’s mother told Local 10 she paid Perez-Domingo $40 a week to bring the child to daycare.
The autopsy was reportedly set for Saturday.
Perez-Domingo is held in lieu of a $50,000 bond, records show. She is represented by a public defender, records show. Law&Crime sent a request for comment.
[Mugshot via Miami-Dade County Jail]