Charges in Baby’s Death

A La Habra couple will be arraigned today on charges of manslaughter and felony child abuse after their 5-month-old son was left in a sweltering car for six hours Monday while they slept, steps away, inside an air-conditioned motel room, police said.

The baby boy, Cailan Cutillo, had been dead at least two hours before his mother, Kimberly Fudge, placed a frantic telephone call to police, said Claremont police Lt. Gary Jenkins. Fudge and her boyfriend, Dylan Cutillo, both 29, had been staying at the Howard Johnson motel in Claremont--roughly 22 miles from their La Habra home--following what police described as a “family dispute” that erupted at the house Sunday evening.

Investigators at first were unsure whether Cutillo knew that his son was locked inside the car, since he had apparently checked in to the motel the night before and was joined Monday morning by Fudge, who drove there with the baby. After interviewing Cutillo overnight, however, Jenkins said detectives were convinced he “was most definitely aware of the situation.”

But Cutillo’s attorney, Catherine Lombardo, said her client “had no idea the baby was in the car.”

The father was asleep when Fudge arrived at the motel room, which he had left unlocked for her, and did not wake up until shortly before 2 p.m., Lombardo said. Fudge awoke a few moments later and realized the baby was still strapped in a car seat in her 1991 four-door Buick, the attorney said. Detectives said the temperature inside the car neared 120 degrees.

“That’s when (Cutillo) rushed out to the car,” Lombardo said. “That’s when he found the baby.”

Lombardo said she was puzzled by officials’ decision to charge Cutillo because police had indicated earlier that he probably would be released Tuesday. She declined to say whether Cutillo had had any type of discussion with Fudge immediately after she arrived at the motel, as police have said.

Detectives confirmed Tuesday that they are looking into previous reports of child abuse or neglect against Fudge, but declined to elaborate.

“We’re examining all of that, yes,” Jenkins said.

Officers also took blood samples from the parents to test for the presence of alcohol or drugs, but the results will not be available for three days, Jenkins said.

The temperature in Claremont reached 96 degrees, but inside the closed car, it grew more than 20 degrees hotter, police said.

Public safety officials continually warn of the dangers of leaving small children and pets in cars, especially during warm weather.

Even leaving car windows cracked open “does nothing to protect children from hyperthermia,” said Pam Bryant, community education manager at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

The temperature climbs so rapidly in a closed car that a child’s body cannot adjust, Bryant said. The resulting hyperthermia typically leads to heat stroke, in which the body becomes even less able to cool itself. Infants and young children are particularly susceptible because of their poorer internal temperature regulation and their smaller, more fragile physiques.

In the case of the 5-month-old boy, police said Cutillo left Fudge’s grandfather’s house in La Habra, where the couple had been living, shortly after an argument occurred there Sunday night. The dispute was not between the couple, but “more of a family disturbance” that prompted Cutillo to spend the night away, Jenkins said.

Cutillo, an electrician in Rancho Cucamonga, then drove to the motel in Claremont and called Fudge to tell her where he would be.

Fudge’s brother, Curtis Fudge, said Tuesday that the baby’s death has devastated the family. He said he spoke with his sister from jail and is convinced it was an unfortunate accident.

The brother declined to comment on the argument that drove Cutillo to the Howard Johnson motel, or to provide details about why Fudge does not have custody of her other three children. Those children, fathered by two different men, live with various relatives, police said.

“Everyone has their problems,” Curtis Fudge said.

Citing confidentiality rules, Orange County social services officials would not comment on whether the mother or father had been subjects of past investigations.

The couple remained in Claremont City Jail with bail set at $50,000 each. Their arraignment is scheduled this afternoon in Pomona Municipal Court.

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Times staff writer Richard Marosi and Times correspondent Richard Winton contributed to this report.

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Heat That Kills

Young children are among the people most likely to be affected by extreme heat, such as that found in an enclosed car. Extreme heat can lead to hyperthermia, a condition in which the body cannot cool itself. Here’s how fast temperatures inside an enclosed car can rise to life-threatening levels:

Outside temperature: 93 degrees

125 degrees in 20 minutes

140 degrees in 40 minutes

* Never leave a child or pet in a car on a warm day, even with the windows down.

* If a child is accidentally locked inside a car, dial 911.

* Check the temperature of the seats and seat-belt buckles before strapping a child into a seat

The body will try to cool itself as the core temperature rises from the normal 98.6-degree mark:

How the body cools

* Heart beats faster

* Blood vessels near the skin dilate so warm blood can come to the surface, letting heat escape

* Evaporation of sweat from skin surface carries away heat

Levels of Hyperthermia

1. Heat Exhaustion

* May result in giddiness, extreme thirst, headache, nausea, weakness and heavy sweating. Skin will be cool and moist, body temperature normal and pulse normal or raised

* Sometimes preceded by heat cramps

2. Heatstroke

* Body temperature reaches more than 104 degrees

* Characterized by hot, dry skin, confusion, vomiting, rapid pulse and shallow breathing and a gradual loss of consciousness

* Sweating stops, leaving the body unable to cool itself

* Temperature rises and brain/other vital organs begin to fail

* Convulsions, coma and death may result

Sources: National Institutes of Health, National Safe Kids Campaign, World Book

Graphics reporting by BRADY MACDONALD / Los Angeles Times