Baltimore man charged after his 1-year-old son dies in hot car

A Baltimore man is facing multiple charges following the July death of his 1-year-old son, who was left unattended in the family van for roughly five hours on a day when the heat index topped 100 degrees.

Yaakov Reichman, 32, turned himself in to police on Monday. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect of a minor, according to court documents.

On July 16, Baltimore Police officers responded to the 6200 block of Greenspring Avenue in Cheswolde for a report of an unconscious child. Emergency medical service personnel attempted life-saving measures, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Reichman later told police he went to his local synagogue for morning prayer around 7 a.m. and returned home around 8:30 a.m. After breakfast, Reichman dropped off his wife at work on Greenspring Avenue before taking his 2-year-old and 3-year-old children to separate daycares, according to charging documents.

Reichman was then supposed to take his 1-year-old son to daycare but forgot and instead returned to his synagogue for religious study, according to charging documents. He was there for roughly five hours, during which temperatures in the van sitting in the sun reached an estimated 150 degrees, according to the documents.

Reichman then returned to pick up his wife on Greenspring Avenue, and she discovered their unresponsive son in his rear-facing car seat, police said in charging documents.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined on July 30 that the cause of the 1-year-old’s death was hyperthermia, or heat exposure.

Reichman’s attorney, Ari Casper, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case against Reichman remains pending in Baltimore District Court, so Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates declined to comment specifically on the case. Speaking generally, however, Bates said he supports prosecuting parents who leave a child to die in a hot car, even if it’s just a terrible accident. Bates speaks often about holding parents accountable.

“As prosecutors, we have to consider and remember the victim,” he said. “It would be my job as the state’s attorney to pursue the case on behalf of that child. Even though the child cannot speak for themselves, they still have a right to hold somebody accountable.”

Bates said the place for mercy for a grieving parent would come at sentencing, and he supports measures such as home detention, parenting classes, community service and expungement in such instances.

More than three dozen children died in hot cars last year, according to the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, two of which were in Maryland. In May 2025, a 2-year-old girl died after being in a parked car in the Wheaton-Glenmont area for hours. Just two months later, a 6-month-old died after being left in a vehicle in Belcamp.

There have been 55 heat-related deaths in Maryland so far this year, including more than 40 during multiple heat waves in July, according to the state Department of Health.

Reichman was released on bond. He has a preliminary court hearing scheduled for Sept. 23.

Banner reporter Tim Prudente contributed to this article.