Father charged after son dies in hot vehicle

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Photo credit Ramsey County Sheriffs Office

A 4 year old boy is dead, after his father allegedly left him in a hot SUV four several hours Saturday while he worked at an event at CHS Field.

26 year old Kristopher Taylor of Apple Valley is charged with second-degree manslaughter.  He tells police he had no one to watch his son Saturday as he had to work at Grill Fest at the Saints ballpark.  

After initially telling investigators that he left he child alone in the vehicle for approximately 2.5 hours, he later admitted he left the boy in his Dodge Journey at 11:30 AM, and didnt return to the vehicle until his shift was done at 5:15 PM.  Taylor says he left the window open in the vehicle "maybe a 1/2 or 1/4 of an inch." 

St. Paul Police say the vehicle was entirely exposed to the sun.  Temperatures climbed into the 70's Saturday.  

Investigators say when Taylor returned to his vehicle at 5:15pm, the boy was already dead and showing signs of decomposition.