A jury ruled that the woman charged with the death of a toddler she accidentally left in a hot car is not guilty on all charges Monday.
Rimma Shvartsman, 47, of Feasterville, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment after she left 2-year-old Daniel Slutsky in her minivan July 1, 2009. Shvartsman, a neighbor of Daniel and his family, was driving the toddler to the daycare she co-owned.
Shvartsman admitted that when she arrived at Fairy Tales Day Care in Penndel that summer day, she forgot Daniel was in the van, locked it with the windows rolled up, and did not go back to the van for more than six hours.
Shvartsman found Daniel unconscious in the car, with signs that he tried to get out of the car seat. She called 911 but the boy was prounounced dead at the hospital with a body temperature of 108.2 degrees. He died of hyperthermia.
Shvartsman’s defense attorney argued that the daycare operator was under stressed because of a call from her doctor that made her believe her cancer had returned, reports KYW.
In its closing arguments, the defense said that not every accident is a criminal act. The prosecution argued that she didn’t have to pick up the child if she was feeling emotionally stressed.
