NASHVILLE, TENN. — The continuing investigation into Wednesday’s death of one-year-old Katera Barker indicates that her adoptive father, Matt Barker, unintentionally left her in a car seat in the rear seat of his pickup truck after he parked it Wednesday morning at the family’s Virginia Avenue residence.
Detectives have been told that Matt Barker left home at 7:30 a.m. with his two children (Katera and a five-year-old) to take them to a daycare facility on Chapel Avenue. He returned home at approximately 8 a.m. and left minutes later via a ride share service for the airport. He then flew out of the city on a business trip. His wife, Jenny, left home for work in her vehicle.
Wednesday evening, Jenny Barker went to the daycare facility to pick up the children. She was told that Katera was never dropped off. She telephoned her husband and came to the realization that Katera was still in the pickup truck. Jenny Barker telephoned 911 at 5:42 p.m. as she pulled into her driveway. She removed Katera from the pickup truck and began CPR until paramedics arrived. Katera was transported to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
JUST IN: 1-year-old girl dies after being left in a car seat all day in a pickup truck parked at a family’s East Nashville, Tenn. home. Adoptive father reportedly forgot about the child after dropping off her sibling at daycare – MNPD pic.twitter.com/FfIpPLce8I
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 24, 2018
Matt Barker flew back to Nashville and arrived late Wednesday night. He and his wife have been fully cooperative with the investigation.
No charges are being placed at present. The District Attorney’s Office is being kept apprised of detectives’ continuing work on this case.
