2 Brothers Left in Parked Minivan Die

A 3-year-old Simi Valley boy and his 13-month-old brother died Saturday after being left in the family’s minivan for several hours in their home’s driveway, police said.

The deaths appear to be heat-related but an official cause won’t be established until autopsies are done today, authorities said. The older boy was identified by police as Jake Alexander Heath and his younger brother as Dylan Charles Heath.

“This is just absolutely tragic,” said Simi Valley Police Lt. Mike Brewer.

Police said they were questioning their mother, who may have fallen asleep in their home. No charges had been filed late Saturday.

According to Lt. John Ainsworth, the boys’ mother, Marlene T. Heath, 39, had strapped the children into their safety seats in the Dodge minivan and started driving to Ventura for a company picnic when she changed her mind and returned to the family’s house in the 2100 block of Ralston Street.

Heath went inside, where she allegedly fell asleep for three or four hours, authorities said.

At about 6:15 p.m. Heath woke up, ran outside and found them in the van, which had its windows rolled up, Ainsworth said.

She carried both boys inside and tried to resuscitate them. Heath then called her husband at his job at a Westlake Village car dealership.

Heath’s husband, Phillip Heath, 43, called police.

The afternoon temperature reached 87 degrees.

According to neighbors, the Heaths have lived in the neighborhood for about three years.

One neighbor said Marlene Heath was in good spirits a couple of weeks ago while attending a child’s birthday party. “She’s a stay-at-home mom and she always seemed very nice to me,” said the neighbor, who requested anonymity.

This marks the summer’s fourth Southern California incident involving children left in vehicles.

On June 27 in Northridge, a police officer walking through the Vons parking lot in the 18500 block of Nordhoff Street rescued two children, ages 7 weeks and 1 1/2 years, who were inside a parked car.

The mother, Subha Sadaf, 21, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment. She told police she had left the children in the vehicle while she shopped for groceries.

On June 29, a 3-year-old girl died in Rialto after her foster mother accidentally left her in a sweltering car, retrieving her about 20 minutes later. The 48-year-old foster mother was not arrested.

On July 1, a 22-month-old girl died inside the family van in Desert Hot Springs.