SerpApi.Org
Family and friends will gather tonight to remember a 3-year-old Alabama boy who died one year ago after being left in a hot car for roughly five hours.
Kettorius “KJ” Starkes Jr., 3, died July 22, 2025, while in the care of 55-year-old Kela Stanford, who at the time worked as a transport driver for Covenant Services Inc., which contracts with DHR.
Stanford, who was immediately fired, has since been indicted on a felony charge of leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle. A trial date has not yet been set.
Stanford’s lawyer, Derek Simms, has previously said the toddler’s death toddler’s death was tragic, but not criminal.
A balloon release will be held at 6 p.m. in the 2000 block of First Avenue North in Bessemer, across from the DHR office building.
Stanford had taken KJ to Bessemer for a visit with his biological father.
Instead of immediately returning KJ to his daycare following a DHR supervised visit with his biological father, a detective testified, Stanford made stops at Church’s Chicken, Little Caesars and a tobacco shop to pick up cigars for her husband.
She told officers she had a lot on her mind and was distracted and did not realize KJ was left in her car.
KJ was found dead that Tuesday night in Stanford’s vehicle in the driveway of her east Birmingham home.
Birmingham Det. Gabriel Lacally previously testified that Stanford picked up KJ from Giggles and Wiggles Academy at 9 a.m. that day and drove him to the DHR building in Bessemer for a visit with his father.
The visit ended about 11:30 a.m., at which point Stanford drove back to the east side of Birmingham, making the stops at Church’s and Little Caesars.
She went to her home and dropped the food to her son.
At that point, the detective said, Stanford’s husband texted her and asked her to get him cigars, so she went to a nearby tobacco shop, returning home at 12:30 p.m.
All of the businesses visited by Stanford were within blocks of KJ’s daycare.
Stanford told detectives she spent the afternoon watching a movie, visiting with her husband and opening Amazon packages.
At about 5:30 p.m., she received a phone call from KJ’s foster mother stating that he had never been returned to daycare.
At that point, Stanford went to her vehicle and found KJ unresponsive inside.
Lacally said Stanford removed KJ from the car. “He was deceased,” the detective testified.
He said Stanford told police she put the child in a cold bathtub to try to bring down his body temperature and then placed him on the living room floor to try CPR.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service notified Birmingham police about 5:44 p.m., and officers joined fire medics at Stanford’s home.
KJ was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:02 p.m.
©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
