Mother arrested in death of children

From the Parker County Sheriff’s Office

Parker County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Cynthia Marie Randolph, 25, in connection with the death of her two children from extreme heat exposure in a vehicle.

Sheriff’s personnel were called to Randolph’s residence in the 200 block of Rambling Loop, west of Lake Weatherford, on May 26, 2017, where Randolph reported she found her two children unresponsive after being locked inside a vehicle.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said the incident was reported shortly after 4 p.m., when the temperatures had reached approximately 96 degrees.

The children were identified as a 16 month-old boy and a 2-year-old girl.

Randolph stated she was inside her residence folding laundry and watching television, as the children played in an enclosed back porch, visible from the living room. She said approximately 20 to 30 minutes had passed when she realized she had not heard the children. She looked into the room they had been playing and noticed they were “gone.” Randolph stated she spent the next 30 to 40 minutes searching for her children. Randolph also initially reported both children “took off,” that she had searched the area then later found the toddlers locked inside a small four-door vehicle on the property. Randolph reported the children entered the vehicle on their own and had locked themselves inside. After she found both children unresponsive, Randolph claimed she broke a window of the vehicle to gain entry in an attempt to save the children.

Emergency medical personnel was contacted. Both children were pronounced deceased shortly after 4:30 p.m.

Sheriff’s deputies on scene inquired about the time length the children had been exposed to extreme temperatures inside the vehicle. Randolph’s immediate response was, “no more than an hour.”

Randolph’s arrest resulted from several subsequent interviews and an extensive investigation conducted by Sheriff’s investigators with the assistance of the Texas Rangers.

Throughout multiple interviews, Randolph created several variations of the events which lead to the death of her children.

The Texas Rangers and U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Dallas Field Office senior special agent conducted a final interview with Randolph on Friday, June 23, where she implicated herself in the role she played involving the death of her children.

Randolph said around 12:15 p.m., she found her children playing inside her car, and ordered her daughter out of the car using profanity. When the 2-year-old refused to exit the car, Randolph said she shut the car door to teach her daughter a “lesson,” thinking “she could get herself and her brother out of the car when ready.” Randolph then told investigators she went into her home, smoked marijuana and went to sleep for two to three hours. Randolph implicated herself again when she told investigators she later broke the car window to make it look like an accident.

Sheriff Fowler originally said on May 26, that any incidents involving any child are difficult ones, but this call was especially heartbreaking with the unfortunate deaths of the two children.

Sheriff Fowler said on June 23 that he is satisfied with the arrest of Randolph. The investigators involved in the case believe Randolph was solely responsible for the death of her two children.

Randolph was charged with two first-degree felony counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. She was booked into the Parker County Jail. Her bond has not been set.

Further inquiries regarding this case should be directed to the Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information Office in Garland.