A St. Peters caregiver has been sentenced to three years in prison after authorities say she left three elderly, vulnerable adults locked inside a van that turned into an oven in a busy shopping-center parking lot. Shoppers spotted the trio alone, called 911, and officers later reported the inside of the vehicle was around 130 degrees while the outside temperature hovered near 96. Prosecutors described the victims as adults with special needs who could not unbuckle themselves. The sentence was handed down this week in St. Charles County Circuit Court.
Prosecutor: wellness check led to charges
In August 2024 the Office of Prosecuting Attorney Joseph G. McCulloch announced that two caregivers, identified as Niyah Brown and Alexis Daggs, had been charged with three counts of abuse of an elderly, disabled or vulnerable person after officers were sent to conduct a wellness check in a St. Peters parking lot. According to the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, police arrived to find the van with all doors and windows closed, the engine off and the three adults "sweating profusely" while bystanders worked to unlock the vehicle and called 911. Bond for each caregiver was set at $50,000 cash, and officials said the victims were taken to a hospital for heat-related injuries.
Judge imposes three-year term
At a courthouse hearing this week, a judge sentenced 31-year-old Alexis Daggs to three years behind bars, as reported by FOX 2. Police told reporters the van’s interior temperature was measured at roughly 130 degrees when it was first examined, a detail prosecutors leaned on to underscore the danger the adults faced.
Daggs' attorney told the court that she had her child in the vehicle, that the car was running and that "someone else was inside to keep the child safe," according to FOX 2. Family members and advocates called the situation heartbreaking. "It was upsetting that an individual with severe disabilities requiring full support was left in a hot car in triple-digit temperatures," Tim Weaks told the station. Jacquelyn Miller, who identified herself as the guardian of one of the victims, said her ward "is elderly with profound developmental disabilities and cannot speak or undo seat belts," and McCulloch's office said the neglect left the three adults at serious risk.
What the law says
Missouri's law on the topic - RSMo 565.184 - defines "abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person" to include intentionally failing to provide care or acting in a way that creates a substantial risk to health; the statute is typically charged as a class A misdemeanor. The statute's text is available from the Missouri Revisor of Statutes, and prosecutors in St. Charles County cited those elements when they charged the caregivers last year, according to the county press release.
The case remains on the county docket and the other caregiver's criminal status was last reported as pending. Hospitals and advocates continue to stress that vulnerable adults should never be left unattended in vehicles during extreme heat and urge bystanders to call 911 if they see people locked in hot cars.
