Toddler Bound To Car Seat, Suffocated With Blanket, Parents Arrested

A toddler bound to a car seat for 15 hours has died after having a blanket forced into her mouth to stop her from crying, according to authorities in Rockingham County, North Carolina.

The toddler, Toni Gwynn, was not given food or water for the entire time she was restrained. The arrest warrant stated that, after 12 hours, the child’s father, Antonio Gwynn, 22, pushed the blanket into Toni’s mouth “to stop child from crying and thus restricted the airway causing the child’s death.”

Antonio and Heather Gwynn, the child’s mother, faced charges in Rockingham District Court last Wednesday.

Antonio Gwynn will be charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse and will be held on a $3 million bond, while Heather Gwynn, also 22, will be charged with felony child abuse. She is being held on a $1 million bond.

Toni died on July 11 in the town of Eden, North Carolina, according to News-Record.com.

The couple have two other children — a four-month-old and a 4-year-old, both of whom have been in the custody of Social Services since last Thursday, when Toni’s body was discovered at the family’s home. The county’s social services director, Larry Johnson, said the county had no dealings with the Gwynns until last Thursday night.

Unfortunately, the toddler bound to her car seat has been one of many disturbing incidents of child abuse in recent weeks.

Last month, The Inquisitr reported on a man, who beat his girlfriend’s two-year-old son to death because the boy “disrespected” him.

And in March, we brought you the heart-wrenching story of a boy, who was imprisoned for 15 years by his parents, starved, and then thrown out on his own upon turning 18 years old.

Luckily, in the latter case, police were able to take the boy in and find him a foster home.

As for the toddler bound to her car seat, do you think the parents should both be tried for murder?

[Image via News-Record.com]