Ridgefield Dad Charged in Toddler's Hot Car Death Faces Judge

The father of a Ridgefield toddler who died after he was left in a hot car for hours in July may not have unsupervised visits with his two surviving children, following his court appearance Wednesday.

Kyle Seitz, 36, is charged with negligent homicide in the death of his 15-month-old son Benjamin. He was released from custody Wednesday on a promise to appear.

He turned himself in to police at 4 p.m. on Tuesday after learning that police had obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Seitz's son Benjamin died of hyperthermia after Seitz allegedly left him in the car while going to work at Owl Computing Technologies in Ridgefield on July 7.

Police said Seitz had forgotten to drop Benjamin off at daycare and left him alone "for an extended period of time" on a day when temperatures climbed to 88 degrees.

Benjamin's mother, Lindsay Rogers-Seitz, said in the past that Kyle Seitz went to pick up their son from daycare at the end of the day, then realized the little boy was still in the car and rushed his son to Danbury Hospital, where Benjamin was pronounced dead.

The little boy's death was ruled a homicide in August.

Seitz, who is on medical leave from work, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and is due back in court on Nov. 21.

"He certainly continues to have the support of his family and close friends," Seitz's attorney John Gulash said in a statement Tuesday. "It is a difficult time for everyone."

Seitz wife and two surviving children are believed to have moved out of state, according to statements made in court on Wednesday. Neighbors said the last moving truck left the house on Tuesday.

She could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening and she was not in court on Wednesday.

In the weeks after Benjamin's death, Rogers-Seitz started a blog called The Gift of Ben to raise awareness about heatstroke in children.

"I actually told him that night, I said, 'I love you' over and over until he looked at me finally," Rogers-Seitz said in a previous interview. "We can deal with it together and we're finding peace in that."

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