KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Clay County woman is facing murder charges after her two young children died after being left inside a car on a hot July day.
Jenna M. Boedecker, 30, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and four counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
She's also charged with third-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action and property damage in connection to an alleged argument with her husband on the night before the children died.
Court documents say 2-year-old Ireland Ribando and 8-week-old Goodknight Ribando died of hyperthermia after being left in a hot car on July 4, 2018.
Boedecker told investigators she was locked out of her home after an argument with her husband. She said at some point she took the children to her car to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, Boedecker found the girls unresponsive and rushed to a neighbor's home for help. The neighbor and Boedecker tried to revive the girls but were unable to.
She later told investigators she found the key to the house but didn't go in.
Boedecker's husband told investigators that the children were inside the house when he left the night before.
Boedecker was arrested in the next day for the charges relating to an argument with her husband. Court documents say her husband, Joseph Ribando, told detectives that his wife threw a brick at his truck and rammed his vehicle with hers after she accused him of cheating on her.
Shortly after the deaths, the Missouri Office of the Child Advocate also announced it was looking into the case after it was discovered a Children's Services Worker had visited the home the day before the deaths but failed to make contact with the family.
