Deaths of 2 Boys in SUV Ruled Homicides
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From Times Staff Reports
The county coroner ruled the deaths of two young brothers left in a vehicle on a sweltering Lancaster day by their foster mother were homicides, following autopsies conducted Thursday.
The boys died of the effects of hyperthermia, the coroner said.
Their foster mother, Leslie Sue Smoot, had left them for five hours Tuesday in an SUV outside the child-care center she owns, sheriff’s deputies said.
Smoot, 48, was arrested and ordered to appear in court July 30, when she could be arraigned if charges are filed. She is free on bail.
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