Dionicio Perez, 5 year old Omaha, Nebraska boy dies after left in hot car for seven hours by his foster mother Juanita Pinon, as relatives blame the foster parent and social services in tragedy that could’ve been averted.
A five-year-old boy died after allegedly being left in a hot car for seven hours by his foster parent according to Nebraska prosecutors.
Dionicio Perez, was found unresponsive on Wednesday after his foster mother, Juanita Pinon, 40, allegedly left him in her SUV in a parking lot outside of a beauty salon in Omaha, while she went to work inside.
During a Friday hearing, prosecutors claimed surveillance footage showed the child being left unsupervised during the entire time and the foster parent only checking on the 5 year old two times during the seven hours he was left unattended.
Foster mom prior criminal history
Perez’s body temperature reached 105 at the time of this death, and he was reportedly trapped in the car in 89-degree heat. He was pronounced dead at hospital.
Prosecutors stated Pinon parking her car at 10:30 a.m. and then proceeded to work.
Pinon, who has a previous criminal history, faces up to 20 years in prison for child abuse by neglect, resulting in death. Omaha police said she has five other children in her care.
Police spokesperson, Chris Gordon, told ABC News that Pinon did not confirm whether or not the boy’s hot car death was an accident or intentional.
The foster mother was previously convicted in a theft by deception case in 2016 and in 2017.
Court documents show that Pinon, bilingual, misused $12,000 from non-English speaking renters in 2016. She received probation and was ordered to repay the funds.
Her bond was set at $2 million in court on Friday. She is expected in court on August 16.
Responding to the tragedy, Matthew Jesop, Perez’s biological uncle called for Pinon to be meted the harshest of punishments.
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Did social services fail a 5 year old boy?
‘Juanita needs to be locked up for the rest of her life; she took a little kid’s life without giving the opportunity to have a life, so a life for a life,’ Jessop told KETV.
‘So many images come to my head like how many times have you done this before? How many times have you not met the needs of the kids that are in your care,’ he continued.
Perez’s uncle believes his nephew’s death could’ve been avoided.
He blames Pinon, the state, and his sister for his fate.
The uncle said his sister – the boy’s biological mother – and Pinon were friends previously, so she ignored the red flags.
‘Even though Juanita had power of attorney, there should’ve been more of a vet of her background and the history of my sister’s poor judgment,’ Jessop said.
Perez’s biological father, Pablo Lopez, along with his stepmother, Jenny, said they pursued custody, only for the state to allegedly assure them Perez was in good hands.
‘The social worker told me they were in good hands. They said they ran a concrete business, and the kids wouldn’t suffer,’ Jenny and Pablo Lopez said. ‘Why until that moment did they look for me, until he was dead. They could’ve done when he was alive, and they didn’t.’
Broken system?
Jenny said: ‘Please, I ask the system to look into the person. Investigate the person to the most thorough way possible before putting kids in the hands of people who don’t want kids.’
Pablo is currently working to get custody of Perez’s twin sister.
Pinon’s bond was set at $2 million in court on Friday. She is expected in court on August 16
On Friday night, loved ones honored Perez’s memory with prayers, blue balloons and stuffed animals
A GoFundMe has been made by the family for funds to help them obtain a lawyer and seek justice for their son and bring his sister back home.
The boy’s death marks the 10th child to have died from heatstroke in vehicles across the U.S. in 2024, according to KidsAndCars.org.
