A social services worker in Alabama has been charged with a felony for the death of a 3-year-old boy she left in a hot car for hours.
A class B felony, carrying a potential punishment of up to 20 years in prison, has been filed against Kela Stanford, 54, now a former contractor for the state Department of Human Resources.
She’s accused of abandoning Ketorrius “KJ” Starkes Jr. in her car for more than half a day.
A report at the Post Millennial said the boy’s death was completely avoidable.
Prosecutors in Jefferson County confirmed that they have issued a felony warrant for Stanford. She was booked into the jail and was released after posting $30,000 bond.
She’s accused of “being a person for hire responsible for a child under the age of 7 and leaving the child unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm.”
Prosecutors explained, “This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary. Our condolences go out to Ketorrius’s family.”
She was working as a contractor for DHS as a transport driver for the Covenant Services. Reports confirm she picked up Starkes from his daycare and took him for a visit with his father, and was supposed to return him after. She “reportedly” got sidetracked doing personal errands and forgot he was in the car, going home.
Birmingham police found Starkes dead when his foster mother found he wasn’t at daycare.
WND reported that the state’s Child Protective Services had taken the boy from the home because there allegedly were drugs in the home.
He was in the custody of the Department of Human Services at the time, and Courtney French, a lawyer for the family, told People.com, “The very system that is in place for his protection was the system that led to his death.”
State officials revealed he was “accidentally left inside … while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through the Department of Human Resources.”
A 3-year-old boy in Alabama was found deceased after being left in a hot car for more than five hours by a social worker.
The worker was fired, but police “are investigating to determine if any criminal charges should be filed.”
If this were a parent, they would have been… pic.twitter.com/oz2AtVYxv2
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 25, 2025
The heartbreaking loss of 3-year-old Keterrious ‘KJ’ Starks Jr. in Alabama, left in a hot car to die by a cps caseworker, is a fate that no child should suffer, and I hope this tragedy can lead to stronger oversight in Alabama’s child welfare system. Here in Maine, we face our… pic.twitter.com/7cHfSiykrT
— Corey James (@CoreyJames29932) July 25, 2025
The CPS worker who was to take the child from a scheduled visit with his father, back to his daycare, parked her car and left him for 5 hours in Alabama heat. The child’s foster mother had gone to the daycare to pick him up, only to learn he wasn’t there. Poor little dude.
— Lafree (@Lafree101) July 25, 2025