“He Was Supposed to Be Safe” DHR Worker Left Child in Car to Die in the Heat | Keterrius “KJ” Sparks
October 29, 2025 • 6 mins
A 911 call in Birmingham led police to a heartbreaking scene — three-year-old Keterrius “KJ” Sparks, lifeless after being left in a parked car for more than five hours in sweltering heat.But the kicker?
The person who forgot him in the car, was his DHS case worker.
**************************************
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Music:
℗ lesfreemusic
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The person who forgot him in the car, was his DHS case worker.
**************************************
Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about? Let me know with an email or a voice message: https://murderandlove.com/contact
Find the sources used in this episode and learn more about how to support Love and Murder: Heartbreak to Homicide and gain access to even more cases, including bonus episodes, ad-free and intro-free cases, case files and more at: https://murderandlove.com
Music:
℗ lesfreemusic
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/love-and-murder-heartbreak-to-homicide--4348896/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
On July twenty second, twenty twenty five, around six forty pm,
Birmingham Police received a nine to one to one call
from a home in the fifteen hundred block of Pine
Tree Drive. The caller reported that a child had been
found unresponsive in a car. When police and firefighters arrived,
they found a three year old boy named Katerius kJ
(00:24):
Sparks still strapped into his car seat. He'd been left
alone in the parked car from about twelve thirty pm
to five thirty pm. Despite every effort, Birmingham Fire and
Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to Love and Murder Heartbreak to Homicide were Kai's
AI co hosts bringing you another midweek mini case written
by Kai. Each story we tell keeps the victim at
the center with the facts and the truth behind every case.
Before we get started, remember that Love and Murder is
a listener funded podcasts. You can join the lambfam on
(01:02):
patreon dot com slash Love and Murder to get bonus episodes,
ad free listening and behind the scenes extras, all while
helping us continue to be a voice for the victims. Now,
let's get into today's case.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Just so you know this case is still ongoing, so
everything said here is alleged.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
The heat that day was unbearable, and according to the
family's attorney, Courtney French, the temperature outside reached a heat
index of one hundred eight degrees and the temperature inside
the car likely climbed to over one hundred and fifty degrees.
Kj's small body never stood a chance.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Side note. Some early reports said that his name was
Katorius kJ, Starkey's junior, but to his family he was
just kJ.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That morning had started like any other visit day. kJ,
who was described as a happy little boy and was
in temporary foster care under the supervision of DHR, spent
the morning with his biological father, Katorius Senior, during a
supervised visit at the DHR office in Bessemer. The visit
ran from nine am to eleven thirty am. When it
(02:10):
was time to leave, Katorius handed his son over to
a representative from Covenant Services, a private child welfare provider
contracted by DHR. That worker was supposed to take kJ
to daycare. Katorius later said he had no idea it
would be the last time he saw his son alive.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
As soon as I leave my son the first thing
he says is, Daddy, I want to go with you.
He says that every time, and it really hurts.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
But instead of driving kJ to daycare, the Covenant Services
worker allegedly went about her own errands. According to the
family's attorney, she stopped for food, went shopping at a
tobacco store, and then drove home, leaving kJ in the
back seat for more than five hours. The horror of
what had happened didn't become clear until Kj's foster mother
(02:59):
arrived at the daycare that afternoon to pick him up
and realized he had never been dropped off. Police later
confirmed that kJ had been accidentally left inside a vehicle
while in the care of a third party worker for DHR.
The worker, who hasn't been publicly identified, was taken to
police headquarters for questioning and has been described as cooperative.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Why are you protecting her identity? I don't understand?
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Meanwhile, Covenant Services released a statement saying that the employee
had been terminated. DHR issued its own statement acknowledging that
the child was being transported by a contract provider when
the incident happened, but cited confidentiality laws when declining to
say more. For both kj's biological and foster families, the
(03:48):
grief is unimaginable. Ernest Kj's foster cousin said, we went.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
To the theme parks, we had a blast. We were
all looking forward to him growing up and being a
part of this family, and now he's just gone.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Vittoria's senior and his family have since hired attorney Courtney
French to push for accountability. In a public statement, the
family said, this is.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
A parent's worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
This tragedy has once again put Alabama's DHR under public scrutiny.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Did you say once again?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yes? The department has been criticized for chronic staffing shortages
and repeated failures in child safety oversight. Many are asking
how a system that's supposed to protect children allowed something
like this to happen, especially to a child already under
its care. As of late July twenty twenty five, kJ
was the sixteenth child in the United States to die
(04:45):
in a hot car that year. His death has sparked
outrage and sorrow across the community. A candlelight vigil was
held in August first, at seven thirty pm in downtown
Bessemer where friends, family, and community members gathered to honor
his short life. As of October twenty twenty five, twenty
(05:05):
nine children have died in hot cars in the United States.
The Birmingham Police Department is still investigating the case. So far,
no one has been arrested or formally charged. The details
remain limited. We don't yet know if there will be
criminal charges or when the case will move forward. What
we do know is that a little boy trusted to
(05:28):
the care of the system died alone in the backseat
of a hot car while the adult who was responsible
for him went about their day. And now both of
Kj's families, his biological and his foster are left asking
the same question, how could this have happened?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
What are your thoughts on this case? A caseworker leaving
a child in their care in their car to die,
It's literally your job and you couldn't even do that.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I also don't agree with them withholding the identity of
the caseworker. What's the reason for this anyway?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Let us know your thoughts on this case in the
comments below or over on the Patreon Patreon dot com
slash Love and Murder.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And that wraps up today's midweek Mini thanks for listening,
thanks for your support, and we'll see you in the
next episode.
On July twenty second, twenty twenty five, around six forty pm,
Birmingham Police received a nine to one to one call
from a home in the fifteen hundred block of Pine
Tree Drive. The caller reported that a child had been
found unresponsive in a car. When police and firefighters arrived,
they found a three year old boy named Katerius kJ
(00:24):
Sparks still strapped into his car seat. He'd been left
alone in the parked car from about twelve thirty pm
to five thirty pm. Despite every effort, Birmingham Fire and
Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to Love and Murder Heartbreak to Homicide were Kai's
AI co hosts bringing you another midweek mini case written
by Kai. Each story we tell keeps the victim at
the center with the facts and the truth behind every case.
Before we get started, remember that Love and Murder is
a listener funded podcasts. You can join the lambfam on
(01:02):
patreon dot com slash Love and Murder to get bonus episodes,
ad free listening and behind the scenes extras, all while
helping us continue to be a voice for the victims. Now,
let's get into today's case.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Just so you know this case is still ongoing, so
everything said here is alleged.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
The heat that day was unbearable, and according to the
family's attorney, Courtney French, the temperature outside reached a heat
index of one hundred eight degrees and the temperature inside
the car likely climbed to over one hundred and fifty degrees.
Kj's small body never stood a chance.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Side note. Some early reports said that his name was
Katorius kJ, Starkey's junior, but to his family he was
just kJ.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That morning had started like any other visit day. kJ,
who was described as a happy little boy and was
in temporary foster care under the supervision of DHR, spent
the morning with his biological father, Katorius Senior, during a
supervised visit at the DHR office in Bessemer. The visit
ran from nine am to eleven thirty am. When it
(02:10):
was time to leave, Katorius handed his son over to
a representative from Covenant Services, a private child welfare provider
contracted by DHR. That worker was supposed to take kJ
to daycare. Katorius later said he had no idea it
would be the last time he saw his son alive.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
As soon as I leave my son the first thing
he says is, Daddy, I want to go with you.
He says that every time, and it really hurts.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
But instead of driving kJ to daycare, the Covenant Services
worker allegedly went about her own errands. According to the
family's attorney, she stopped for food, went shopping at a
tobacco store, and then drove home, leaving kJ in the
back seat for more than five hours. The horror of
what had happened didn't become clear until Kj's foster mother
(02:59):
arrived at the daycare that afternoon to pick him up
and realized he had never been dropped off. Police later
confirmed that kJ had been accidentally left inside a vehicle
while in the care of a third party worker for DHR.
The worker, who hasn't been publicly identified, was taken to
police headquarters for questioning and has been described as cooperative.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Why are you protecting her identity? I don't understand?
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Meanwhile, Covenant Services released a statement saying that the employee
had been terminated. DHR issued its own statement acknowledging that
the child was being transported by a contract provider when
the incident happened, but cited confidentiality laws when declining to
say more. For both kj's biological and foster families, the
(03:48):
grief is unimaginable. Ernest Kj's foster cousin said, we went.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
To the theme parks, we had a blast. We were
all looking forward to him growing up and being a
part of this family, and now he's just gone.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Vittoria's senior and his family have since hired attorney Courtney
French to push for accountability. In a public statement, the
family said, this is.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
A parent's worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
This tragedy has once again put Alabama's DHR under public scrutiny.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Did you say once again?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yes? The department has been criticized for chronic staffing shortages
and repeated failures in child safety oversight. Many are asking
how a system that's supposed to protect children allowed something
like this to happen, especially to a child already under
its care. As of late July twenty twenty five, kJ
was the sixteenth child in the United States to die
(04:45):
in a hot car that year. His death has sparked
outrage and sorrow across the community. A candlelight vigil was
held in August first, at seven thirty pm in downtown
Bessemer where friends, family, and community members gathered to honor
his short life. As of October twenty twenty five, twenty
(05:05):
nine children have died in hot cars in the United States.
The Birmingham Police Department is still investigating the case. So far,
no one has been arrested or formally charged. The details
remain limited. We don't yet know if there will be
criminal charges or when the case will move forward. What
we do know is that a little boy trusted to
(05:28):
the care of the system died alone in the backseat
of a hot car while the adult who was responsible
for him went about their day. And now both of
Kj's families, his biological and his foster are left asking
the same question, how could this have happened?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
What are your thoughts on this case? A caseworker leaving
a child in their care in their car to die,
It's literally your job and you couldn't even do that.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
I also don't agree with them withholding the identity of
the caseworker. What's the reason for this anyway?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Let us know your thoughts on this case in the
comments below or over on the Patreon Patreon dot com
slash Love and Murder.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
And that wraps up today's midweek Mini thanks for listening,
thanks for your support, and we'll see you in the
next episode.
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