Woman who forgot tot in hot van held for trial

By Larry King

Inquirer Staff Writer

Rimma Shvartsman forgot.

A professional day-care provider, Shvartsman forgot on July 1 - a day when temperatures reached the mid-80s - that a 2-year-old boy was strapped in a car seat inside her minivan.

The toddler, Daniel Slutsky, died of hyperthermia after being left there for seven hours.

But that does not make Shvartsman, 47, a criminal, her attorney argued yesterday at a preliminary hearing.

"Forgetting is not a crime," said Michael Mustokoff, defending Shvartsman against charges of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child, and leaving an unattended child in a motor vehicle. "This was a tragic accident."

That argument did not persuade District Judge Daniel Baranoski, who ordered the Northampton Township woman held for trial on all three charges.

Baranoski also denied Mustokoff's request to call an expert witness to testify about the process of forgetting, saying it was not appropriate at a preliminary hearing.

Shvartsman did not speak to reporters as she entered and left District Court. She is an owner of the Fairy Tales Day Care Center in Penndel, and frequently drove Daniel Slutsky to the center as a favor to his parents, who were her neighbors.

On July 1, Shvartsman had dropped off her niece at a day camp before continuing to Fairy Tales with Daniel.

After parking the van, she told police, she grabbed her purse and went inside, absentmindedly leaving the toddler strapped in his car seat.

"She said . . . she just forgot that he was there," testified Langhorne Manor Police Officer Wynn Cloud, the second officer on the scene.

Mustokoff argued that there were multiple reasons for Shvartsman's lapse that make it fall short of criminal negligence. "She was unaware [that a dangerous condition existed] because she forgot," he said.

Shvartsman had received a message the night before that medical tests indicated her thyroid cancer might have returned. That night, Shvartsman did not sleep well, and remained upset the following morning, Mustokoff said.

Stress and lack of sleep can cause forgetfulness, Mustokoff said.

"It may be negligence, but that is not an issue for this court," he argued. "That is an issue for a civil court."

The boy's parents have sued Shvartsman in civil court. That case is pending.

Involuntary manslaughter involves causing death while acting in a reckless or grossly negligent manner.

Leaving a 2-year-old unattended in a car all day meets that definition, Chief Deputy District Attorney Robin Tombly argued. She said that while Shvartsman's actions were not intentional, they nonetheless were criminal.

"If this was intentional, we would be here on a murder case," Tombly said. "We have never argued that this was intentional, [but] this was grossly negligent."

Shvartsman left the boy in the van about 9:30 a.m. She did not discover him until about 4:30 p.m., when she lifted the hatch of her van and found him.

The boy was no longer in his car seat, apparently having freed himself in an effort to get out of the van, prosecutors have said.

According to court documents, his core body temperature still exceeded 108 degrees nearly an hour later - after the toddler had been pronounced dead at St. Mary Medical Center.

Contact staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com.

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