Day care where 3-year-old died in van will close, owner says

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The owner of the day care where a 3-year-old boy was left in a hot van to die has agreed to keep it closed for good.

Myles Hill was left in a locked van at the Little Miracles Academy at 900 Plymouth Avenue in August, investigators said.

Investigators with the Department of Children and Families and the attorneys for Little Miracles attended a hearing Thursday to discuss proper punishment.

Audrey Thornton, the owner of Little Miracles Academy, is fighting to keep her other daycare facility at John Young Parkway and West Colonial Drive open, investigative reporter Karla Ray learned.

Investigators with DCF said Hill was marked “present” at the day care. DCF Investigators said it was pure negligence on the daycare employee's part.

“To say their operations are shoddy would be an understatement. They have not demonstrated the capacity to take care of children,” DCF regional general counsel Shane DeBoard said.

Deborah Saint Charles was driving the van and failed to do any checks to make sure no children were in the vehicle before she left, investigators said. She faces charges of aggravated manslaughter.

“What we had was an employee who had a bad day,” attorney Robert Nesmith, with the Little Miracles Academy said. “All of these things centered around the transportation element of this operation. There was nothing to suggest that they weren't otherwise good facilities.”

DCF had cited Little Miracles Academy in the past for not keeping proper transpiration logs.

Investigators said no one at either facility noticed Hill was gone all day. He was left in the van for nearly 12 hours, investigators said.

“How can you say this only had to do with the transport element when no one inside either facility asked about where he was that day?” Karla Ray asked Nesmith.

“I really don't understand what part of this you don't understand. I've already said I'm not going to speak about it at this time,” Nesmith responded.

The state and Little Miracles have until December 6 to write up their final proposals and get them to the administrative judge. The judge will have the final decision.

Cox Media Group