The father charged with manslaughter after leaving his baby daughter in a hot car and then putting her in a refrigerator instead of calling the cops has defended himself, saying that he and his wife are "heartbroken".
Michael Thedford, 33, an unemployed high school teacher, was arrested in Collin County, outside of Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday. He was charged with manslaughter after the death of six-month-old Fern and released on a $20,000 bond.
Thedford had dropped his other children, aged three and five, at daycare - but forgot about Fern, who remained strapped into her car safety seat while the temperature outside was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32°C). In a statement released through their attorney, Thedford and his wife Jennifer said they love their children, WFAA reports.
"We are heartbroken over the loss of our beautiful baby girl," they said. "We love our children. We love Fern, and our hearts will never heal."
Thedford says it was a change in routine that made him forget about the baby after dropping his two other kids at daycare in the morning. They were dropped off at 9am. Around 1.30pm, deputies were called to the family home in Melissa, around 40 miles north of Dallas.