Correction: Originally the story stated that the child died of hyperthermia, but it has since been corrected to hypothermia. We apologize for any confusion.
(WJET/WFXP) – A 2-year-old found dead outside in an Erie, Pennsylvania neighborhood in February died from hypothermia, the coroner confirmed.
According to Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook, the death of 2-year-old Zemina Smith was ruled accidental.
A coroner’s report filed to the Erie County Courthouse Tuesday stated the child’s parents “were smoking methamphetamine” in their apartment on the night their daughter wandered outside.
The child’s father told police he “noticed the front door was open a crack and did not see if any of the children were outside.”
The report also stated video surveillance shows Smith left the apartment at 11:22 p.m. on Feb. 28 and was last seen moving at 12:20 a.m. on Feb. 29.
Police located Smith, deceased, around 7 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, outside an apartment complex in the 300 block of East 16th Street.
