A five-year-old boy named Theo Sabo died after being left alone in a hot car while his parents hosted a party at their home in Arizona on Sunday. The temperature was around 105 degrees Fahrenheit when the child was discovered unresponsive nearly three hours later by family members who had not realized he was still in the vehicle. Police have charged the boy’s parents, Anca Sabo and Mihail Sabo, with negligent homicide and child abuse; their lawyer argued that it was a tragic miscommunication rather than intentional neglect or abuse, suggesting that neither parent expected the situation to escalate into danger for the young child.
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A five-year-old's parents have been arrested after the boy died in a hot car outside their Arizona home while they hosted a party after church.
Theo Sabo was found unresponsive in a sweltering vehicle outside his family's $1.1 million property in Peoria on Sunday.
His parents, Anca Sabo, 45, and Mihail Sabo, 50, have been charged with negligent homicide and child abuse for leaving him in the vehicle as temperatures reached 105 degrees, Fox 10 reported.
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Fox → see → degrees
The family returned home from the baptism of another child around 1pm, and did not realize the boy was missing until 3.45pm as they hosted the party, according to police.
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they → return → police
Theo was pulled out of the car and given CPR by family members, then taken to hospital by the fire department, where he was pronounced dead.
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he → pull → department
Mihail told police that he asked his 14-year-old son, who has not been named, to get Theo out of the car when they first got back from church, according to court documents.
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they → tell → documents
The teenager told police that he does not remember being asked to get his brother from the car.
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he → tell → car
'It appears that it was either a miscommunication between who or which family member was supposed to get the child out of the car,' police community relations officer William Kennedy said.
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Kennedy → appear → car
Theo Sabo, five, died inside a hot car outside his family's Arizona home as they hosted a party on Sunday
His parents, Anca Sabo, 45, and Mihail Sabo, claimed they told their 14-year-old son, who has not been named, to get the boy out of the car
At their court appearance on Monday
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who → die → Monday
, the parents' attorney, Leah Dodd, described the situation as a 'tragedy.
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attorney → describe → tragedy
'Mom is hosting a party at their home, assumes dad is gonna get [the boy].
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dad → host → boy
Dad asks the 14-year-old.
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Dad → ask → old
That's not asking a young child to get another child out of the vehicle,' Dodd said in court footage obtained by @collectcallfrom.
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Dodd → ask → @collectcallfrom
'He was sleeping, and there was a lot going on, but this does not deviate from what a normal person would do in this situation.
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person → sleep → situation
The attorney also argued abuse and negligent homicide charges were not appropriate.
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charges → argue → ?
'She called 911, she administered life-saving efforts, she answered all questions of detectives.
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she → call → detectives
This is not someone who is running away,' Dodd said.
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Dodd → run → ?
'Everything that she and her husband did upon finding the child in the vehicle was standard care.'
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she → do → vehicle
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office has not released the boy's cause or manner of death.
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During the hearing, Anca begged the judge to let her see her other children.
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her → beg → children
'I want to see my kids.
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I → want → kids
Please let me see my kids,' she said through tears.
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she → let → tears
Theo was pulled out of the car and given CPR by family members, then taken to hospital by the fire department, where he was pronounced dead
His parents, Anca Sabo, 45, and Mihail Sabo, 50, have been charged with negligent homicide and child abuse for leaving him in the vehicle
The boy was found unresponsive in a sweltering car outside his family's $1.1 million home in Peoria as temperatures soared to 105 degrees on Sunday
The parents were given a $150,000 bond each and ordered not to have contact with each other, but the judge did allow supervised visits with their other children.
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judge → pull → children
Both Anca and Mihail have a status conference scheduled for September 21 and a preliminary hearing on September 23.
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Anca → have → September
A GoFundMe has been set up for the Sabo family to support Theo's funeral and memorial expenses, and has raised over $223,000 as of Tuesday.
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family → set → Tuesday
'The Sabo family experienced the unimaginable heartbreak of losing their precious little boy, Theo,' the fundraiser said.
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fundraiser → experience → boy
'If you know the Sabo family, you know how deeply loved they are and how much they have poured into their community through serving, loving, and giving to others.
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they → know → others
'As the Sabo family walks through these incredibly difficult days, we want to surround them with love, prayer, and practical support so they can focus on grieving, being together, and honoring Theo’s precious life.'
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they → walk → life
The Daily Mail contacted the Peoria Police Department, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, and the couple's defense attorney for comment.
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The Aporia
