Due to confidentiality of ongoing cases, DFPS could not reveal the nature of the 28-year-old mother’s prior involvement with the agency.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — A 28-year-old mother charged in connection to the alleged hot car deaths of her two children has prior involvement with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), according to the agency.
Tiona Islar remains locked up at the Bexar County jail on charges of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury/death. On Saturday after 3 p.m., deputies with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the 7000 block of Chancery Gate to reports of two children found dead inside a hot car.
Islar told investigators the last time she had seen her children (3-year-old Miyani Islar and 6-year-old Sevani Stevenson) was when they got home and she took them inside earlier in the day. She noted her kids must’ve accessed the car somehow on their own.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said inconsistencies in Islar’s story along with ample amount of evidence prompted further questioning and her eventual arrest.
A DFPS spokesperson emailed this statement:
The family involved in this incident has had prior involvement with DFPS. As you know, details of investigations are confidential according to law. Once the investigation is complete, a public report will be available upon request.
Regarding hot car child fatalities, in Texas, from Jan. 1 – Sept. 18, there have been 8 confirmed fatalities.
We encourage caregivers in the community to remember to:
- Lock your car every time.
- If a child goes missing, check the car including the trunk.
- Keep keys and fobs out of reach.
- Teach children cars are not play areas.
And call 911 if you see a child alone in a car.
Amber Rollins, director of the nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, stressed how vital it is for parents to be extra vigilant and prepared in the event their child escapes the house.
“The kids who get in on their own are typically children who are slightly older. Helping them to learn that skill of opening the door if they ever find themselves trapped could save their life,” Rollins said. “Buy the little stick on door alarms that will alert you with an audio chime if your child sneaks out. You can buy these for $20-$30 online. You can use the little knob covers. They make them for all sorts of doors.”
To learn more about the mission of Kids and Car Safety, go here.