A devastating tragedy in Alabama has sparked national outrage and urgent questions after three-year-old Ke'Torrius “K.J.” Starkes Jr. died inside a hot car while under the care of a state-contracted social services worker.
As investigations continue and the boy’s family grieves, many are left wondering how the system designed to protect children could have failed so catastrophically.
A tragic timeline: What happened to K.J.?
On Tuesday, July 22, K.J. Starkes Jr. was found unresponsive in a parked vehicle outside a private home in Birmingham, Alabama.
According to Birmingham police and the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office, he had been left in the car for roughly five hours — from around 12:30PM to 5:30PM — on a day when outside temperatures reached as high as 96 degrees, with a heat index between 101 and 105°F, CNN reports.
Authorities confirmed that K.J., who had been placed in the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) due to alleged drug use in his home, was in the care of a third-party contractor at the time of his death.
According to Courtney French, the family’s attorney, a contracted worker from Covenant Services Inc. picked K.J. up from a child care center around 9:00AM for a court-ordered supervised visit with his father.
That visit concluded at approximately 11:30AM. Rather than returning K.J. to daycare, the worker allegedly ran personal errands — including stops for food and at a tobacco shop — before going home, attorney Courtney French, who is representing the young child's parents, tells PEOPLE.
K.J. was left strapped in his car seat, inside the parked vehicle, with the engine off and all windows rolled up. The car remained outside the worker’s residence for hours until the child care center contacted the worker to ask why K.J. had not been returned.
“It’s just hard to comprehend that you would leave a baby in a hot car and just have no recollection whatsoever that the baby, a 3-year-old child, is trapped in your car,” said French. “He died a brutal death.”
Emergency services were called, and K.J. was pronounced dead at 6:03PM.
“A parent’s worst nightmare”
K.J.’s family is devastated. In a statement shared through their attorney, they said, “This is a parent's worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive.”
Described by his family as a “joyful,” “brilliant,” and “happy boy who loved life,” K.J. was known for his bright spirit and intelligence. His father told WVTM, “He knew how to count, knew his colors. Three years old, knew all the animals. He was just joyful.”
A balloon release and memorial for K.J. are scheduled for Friday, with his funeral planned for Saturday, August 2.
Questions mount over DHR oversight
The Alabama Department of Human Resources has confirmed that the incident occurred while the child was “in DHR custody” and “being transported by a contract provider", The Guardian reports. The department also stated that the contract provider has since terminated the employee involved.
Due to confidentiality regulations, DHR has not released additional information about the case, the identity of the worker, or the specific circumstances surrounding the death.
Covenant Services Inc., the contracted agency responsible for the worker, has not provided public comment.
Legal and political response
No criminal charges have been filed as of yet, but the Birmingham Police Department confirmed that the worker has cooperated and was brought in for questioning. The case remains under investigation.
French said legal action is being considered, calling K.J.’s death an indictment of a system meant to safeguard vulnerable children.
“The safety net that should have been in place to protect K.J. and others like him is what caused his death,” French told PEOPLE. “The very system that is in place for his protection was the system that led to his death — and that's what's so tragic about this.”
State Senator Merika Coleman also weighed in, saying, “We need answers, and we may need to examine state law to make sure this never happens again.”
Alabama’s first hot car death of 2025
K.J.'s death is the first hot car fatality in Alabama this year, and at least the 16th such death in the United States in 2025, according to Amber Rollins, director of the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety.
Heatstroke deaths in vehicles are largely preventable. When temperatures are in the 90s, the interior of a closed car can soar to lethal levels in minutes. Young children are particularly vulnerable, as their bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults.
Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates confirmed that K.J. was found in a car with the ignition off, doors closed, and windows up, and that “so far there was no other competing cause of death.” His autopsy has been completed, and his body has been released to his parents.
The official cause of death is still pending.
“This would have never happened had K.J. been with his parents”
For K.J.'s family, the pain is magnified by the belief that his death was entirely avoidable. They argue that had he remained in their care — or been more closely monitored by those entrusted with his safety — he would still be alive today.
“This would have never happened had K.J. been with his parents,” French said.
As investigations proceed, K.J.’s story is becoming a rallying cry for those demanding reform in child welfare practices, contractor oversight, and hot car awareness.
His parents, community members, and child advocates are now left asking the same painful question: how did the system let K.J. down so completely?
Our thoughts go out to K.J's loved ones at this time.