OXFORD, Ala. (WIAT) — Days after an 11-month-old boy after being left in a hot car for hours, the Oxford Police Department has concluded its investigation and has found no criminal intent.

During a press conference Wednesday, Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge informed media that the department had looked into the case to the furthest extent they could.

“The findings of both the background investigation leading up to the incident and the electronic devices investigation have concluded no criminal intent was found in this investigation,” Partridge said in a written release sent out to media.

On Friday, police were notified of twins who had been trapped in a hot car at the Sunny King Honda dealership where their father worked in Oxford last Friday. According to Coroner Pat Brown, the children had been sitting in the car between 8:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. The boy was later pronounced dead at 1 p.m. and the other twin was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries. Partridge said she will make a full recovery and is now at home.

According to police, the twins were not discovered until the mother called the father to ask about them. Earlier that morning, the mother had been notified by the twins’ daycare center about if they would be coming to the center or not.

During the press conference, Partridge said law enforcement did a background investigation on both of the children’s parents and investigated their electronic devices and found nothing to show intent.

When asked how one twin survived and the other died, Partridge said only God could answer that question. Police claim the boy was seated on the side of the car where the sun was hitting it.

“Maybe one was in better shape than the other,” he said. “I can’t answer that question. That would be up to a medical doctor to determine.”

Partidge said the whole tragedy has been extremely hard for himself, his officers and the community as a whole. However, he said he was more sad about rumors that had been spread before the department could conclude its investigation.

“It really, really is disheartening when you read social media when people jump to conclusions automatically when they hear that a child is dead, they automatically want to hang the individual who is responsible,” Partridge said. “We need to step back and relax a moment and take a deep breath and let that investigation play out to find out the true facts in that matter.”

The case will now be forwarded to the Calhoun County District Attorney’s Office for review and recommendation by a grand jury, who Partridge said could bring their own charges if they so choose.

Watch the video of Partridge’s press conference below:

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