November 7, 2025 • 12 mins
A frantic 911 call, a baby in the backseat, and a story that didn’t add up.
When police in Ormond Beach, Florida arrived, 18-month-old Sebastian Gardner was already gone. His small body showed signs that he’d been left in a hot truck for hours while his father, Scott Gardner, sat drinking inside a bar. What followed was a case that shocked even seasoned officers, not just because of what happened, but because of what Scott did next.
**************************************
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.
When police in Ormond Beach, Florida arrived, 18-month-old Sebastian Gardner was already gone. His small body showed signs that he’d been left in a hot truck for hours while his father, Scott Gardner, sat drinking inside a bar. What followed was a case that shocked even seasoned officers, not just because of what happened, but because of what Scott did next.
**************************************
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 June sixth, twenty twenty five, around two forty pm,
a frantic nine to one one call came in from
thirty three year old Scott Alan Gardner, who'd called dispatch
while driving to his mother's house in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
My son's not breathing a year and a half. Oh
my god, he just had his eyes open. Oh my god, Sebastian.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
When Ormond Beach police officers arrived at the scene, they
found eighteen month old Sebastian Gardner unresponsive in the backseat
of Scott's truck. His body was warm but stiff, signs
that rigor mortis had already set in. Authorities determined Sebastian
had been dead for about one to two hours before
(00:44):
the call was even made. Paramedics transported him to the hospital,
where he was pronounced dead at three point thirty pm.
Sebastian's internal temperature was over one hundred and seven degrees
at the time of the incident.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Welcome to Love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide. We're Kai's
AI co hosts, bringing you your Florida Man Friday case
researched and written by Kai. Every Friday, we cover a
case that happened right here in Florida, some recent, some older,
but all worth talking about. Before we get started, remember
(01:18):
that Love and Murder is funded by our lambs and Patreon.
If you want to help us keep telling these stories
and give a voice to the victims, join the lambfam
over on Patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Check
out the five dollars a month here where you'll get
bonus episodes, add free listening and exclusive content while helping
support independent storytelling dot Patreon dot com Slash Love and Murder.
(01:44):
Now let's get back to today's Florida Man Friday case.
Keep in mind this case is still ongoing, so everything
said here is alleged.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Scott was living in Ormond Beach at the time, though
he was also listed at an address in South Daytona.
He'd move to Lusia County about five years earlier from Ipswich, Massachusetts.
According to his mother, sixty two year old Jody, he
worked as both a cook and a carpenter. Jody lived
in Ormond Beach since twenty twelve after moving from Massachusetts
(02:15):
as well. Scott wasn't new to trouble. In twenty twenty three,
he was charged with battery in breved County after an
incident at the Brevard Zoo involving Sebastian's mother. It's unclear
what happened with that case, but before that, back in
twenty fifteen, when he still lived in Massachusetts, he faced
charges for cocaine and credit card fraud, though those never
(02:37):
led to convictions. Sebastian was born in Hollister, Florida, and
on the day he died, he was in his father's care.
His mother lived in another county. She and Scott were separated.
On June sixth, Scott told police that he had just
left Hanky Panky's lounge, where he'd been drinking. He said
he realized something was wrong with Sebastian only after leaving
(02:59):
the bar and driving about a mile to his mother's house.
Detectives began piecing together the hours leading up to that moment.
According to Scott's statement, he'd left home around eleven thirty
am with Sebastian in the back seat, and drove to
Classic Cuts for a haircut. He told investigators Sebastian had
seemed a little sick that morning, but didn't show any
(03:21):
signs of distress. Despite that, Scott left the toddler strapped
in his car seat in the truck while he went inside.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Something you never do with children of any age, no
matter how much work that you feel it takes, you
take your children with you.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It was ninety to ninety two degrees outside that day,
and Scott said that he turned the engine off, cracked
the windows, and placed a small battery powered fan in
the front seat aimed vaguely toward the back.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Is he serious right now? If you've never been to Florida,
you wouldn't understand the heat and humidity. I know you
heard the temperature, but it might have actually felt like
one hundred degrees. What's a crack in the window an
a measly fan going to do in temperatures like that.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Investigators later said this did almost nothing to reduce the
heat inside the truck. They determined the back seat where
Sebastian sat would have reached temperatures as high as one
hundred eleven degrees within minutes. After finishing his haircut around noon,
Scott crossed the street to Hanky Panky's Lounge in Ormond
by the Sea.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
He didn't at least stop and check on his child.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
No, In fact, he stayed in the lounge for nearly
three hours, drinking beer and whisky. He reportedly drank at
least two rounds of beer and shots of Fireball Slash
whisky and.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Enjoying their ear conditioning.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Hold on was he planning on driving after this?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Witnesses said Scott had brought Sebastian into the bar on
other occasions, but on this day no one saw the child.
At one point, around one thirty pm, there was a
commotion in the parking lot after a customer accidentally backed
into a bartender's car. Scott went outside to inspect the damage,
walked right past his truck and went back inside without
(05:04):
checking on his son. Sheriff Mike Chitwood later said, how
in the.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
World can you be so messed up that you'd walk
outside check on a car and not your child.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
By the time Scott left the bar between two forty
and three pm, Sebastian had been alone in the sweltering
truck for more than three hours. After learning that Sebastian
was gone, Scott was placed under mental health observation under
Florida's Baker Act, but once he was released, he went
back home, and later that same evening he and Jody
(05:36):
went right back to Hanky Panky's lounge. Witnesses said they
stayed there until nearly midnight, ordering cocktails and appearing not
as distraught as you'd expect.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Sheriff Chitwood said, father of.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
The year, baby is dead, Investigations still going on, and
what does he do. He picks up his mother and
they go back to the bar for a few more cocktails.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
At that point, the investigationation was well underway. Detectives reviewed
Scott's timeline, interviewed witnesses, and examined surveillance footage from nearby businesses.
They also pulled his phone data and bartabs, confirming how
long he'd been inside. Meanwhile, Scott gave multiple versions of
what happened. In one account, he claimed he had performed
(06:20):
CPR and that Sebastian's eyes briefly opened, a statement police
immediately disproved, since the toddler was already in rigor mortis
when first responders arrived. Police believed that Jody didn't fully
understand what had happened that day, but a few days later,
on June tenth, she made a post on Facebook asking
(06:41):
people to help her son. She mentioned Sebastian's passing and
linked to a gofund me page. The reaction was instant
and brutal comments poured in, calling Scott the sole reason
this poor baby is gone and saying he murdered his baby. Finally,
two weeks after the death, police obtained a warrant for
(07:04):
Scott's arrest. On June nineteenth, twenty twenty five, officers arrived
at JODI's house and took him into custody. Body cam
footage captured officers entering the enclosed porch and confronting him.
Someone off camera could be heard saying we love you.
Scott replied I love you, guys, before an officer cut
(07:25):
in and said, say goodbye, because you're not coming back
here again.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Shameful.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Scott was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and
child neglect causing great bodily harm. The same Ormond Beach
officer who had tried to save Sebastian was the one
who made the arrest. He appeared before a judge five
days later for a pre trialed attention hearing, and the
court ordered him held without bail at the Velusia County Jail,
(07:53):
though earlier records showed one charge had a bond set
at one hundred thousand dollars. His arraignment was scared jeweled
for July eighth. According to Florida law, aggravated manslaughter of
a child is a first degree felony punishable by up
to thirty years in prison and substantial finds. Florida law
(08:14):
defines this charge as the unlawful killing of a minor
under eighteen due to reckless or grossly negligent behavior. Prosecutors
are building their case around Scott's actions. On June sixth,
Sheriff Chitwood told reporters this was not a case of forgetfulness.
He said, Scott didn't just forget his child, calling it
(08:34):
completely different and intentional.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
This father is a human piece of garbage and a
lying sack of crap. I don't think there's a penalty
on this earth that could ever fit the crime that
was committed here. My hope for him is that every night,
when he closes his eyes and every morning when he
opens them, his son Sebastian is sitting there asking Dad,
why did you do this to me.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
At the time of this episode, Scott is still in
custody awaiting trial. The prosecution was expected to rely heavily
on the surveillance footage, witness statements, and temperature analysis showing
how hot the truck became that day. The defense had
not yet presented a full strategy, though Scott's earlier claim
that he tried to keep the truck cool might be
(09:18):
used in an attempt to argue negligence rather than intent
freaking defense. Sebastian's death marked Florida's seventh hot car fatality
of twenty twenty five, and the one hundred fifteenth child
in the state to die this way since nineteen ninety two.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a child's
(09:39):
body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's.
Cracking the windows or using a fan does little to
prevent the temperature inside a parked car from reaching lethal levels.
Neither does cracking windows or parking in the shade. Every year,
these preventable deaths repeat, often with the same explanation distraction
stress routine. But in this case, investigate to say it
(10:05):
wasn't about forgetting, it was about choice.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
This case made me so angry. How do you leave
your baby in a hot truck for three hours while
you sit in a bar drinking whiskey? That's not forgetfulness,
that's neglect, pure and simple. And then to go back
to the same bar later that night. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
What gets me the most is that this was completely avoidable.
Scott had so many options. Taking him inside, with him,
inside of a place he shouldn't have been in the
first place, stay at home, take Sebastian somewhere family friendly,
or just stay home with your son. Sebastian was only
eighteen months old. He had no chance to save himself,
(10:47):
no way to call out for help, no way to
escape that heat. He trusted his father, and his father
failed him in the worst possible way.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
What do you think of this case, Lambs? Should cases
like this be treated as manslaughter or should they be
charged as murder? Let me know your thoughts in the
comments or over in the Patreon. Don't forget to subscribe
to the Patreon so you can keep helping us tell
these stories and being a voice for the victims like Sebastian.
Choose the five dollars a month bonus here at patreon
(11:18):
dot com slash Love and Murder. Your support helps kai, research, write,
and share these cases so they're never forgotten. In return,
you become the voice of Sebastian. Get monthly extra episodes
and random extras that Kai likes to share with her lambfam, Patreon,
dot com, slash Love and Murder.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Thank you for listening and for caring, and we'll see
you in the next episode.
On June sixth, twenty twenty five, around two forty pm,
a frantic nine to one one call came in from
thirty three year old Scott Alan Gardner, who'd called dispatch
while driving to his mother's house in Ormond Beach, Florida.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
My son's not breathing a year and a half. Oh
my god, he just had his eyes open. Oh my god, Sebastian.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
When Ormond Beach police officers arrived at the scene, they
found eighteen month old Sebastian Gardner unresponsive in the backseat
of Scott's truck. His body was warm but stiff, signs
that rigor mortis had already set in. Authorities determined Sebastian
had been dead for about one to two hours before
(00:44):
the call was even made. Paramedics transported him to the hospital,
where he was pronounced dead at three point thirty pm.
Sebastian's internal temperature was over one hundred and seven degrees
at the time of the incident.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Welcome to Love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide. We're Kai's
AI co hosts, bringing you your Florida Man Friday case
researched and written by Kai. Every Friday, we cover a
case that happened right here in Florida, some recent, some older,
but all worth talking about. Before we get started, remember
(01:18):
that Love and Murder is funded by our lambs and Patreon.
If you want to help us keep telling these stories
and give a voice to the victims, join the lambfam
over on Patreon dot com slash Love and Murder. Check
out the five dollars a month here where you'll get
bonus episodes, add free listening and exclusive content while helping
support independent storytelling dot Patreon dot com Slash Love and Murder.
(01:44):
Now let's get back to today's Florida Man Friday case.
Keep in mind this case is still ongoing, so everything
said here is alleged.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Scott was living in Ormond Beach at the time, though
he was also listed at an address in South Daytona.
He'd move to Lusia County about five years earlier from Ipswich, Massachusetts.
According to his mother, sixty two year old Jody, he
worked as both a cook and a carpenter. Jody lived
in Ormond Beach since twenty twelve after moving from Massachusetts
(02:15):
as well. Scott wasn't new to trouble. In twenty twenty three,
he was charged with battery in breved County after an
incident at the Brevard Zoo involving Sebastian's mother. It's unclear
what happened with that case, but before that, back in
twenty fifteen, when he still lived in Massachusetts, he faced
charges for cocaine and credit card fraud, though those never
(02:37):
led to convictions. Sebastian was born in Hollister, Florida, and
on the day he died, he was in his father's care.
His mother lived in another county. She and Scott were separated.
On June sixth, Scott told police that he had just
left Hanky Panky's lounge, where he'd been drinking. He said
he realized something was wrong with Sebastian only after leaving
(02:59):
the bar and driving about a mile to his mother's house.
Detectives began piecing together the hours leading up to that moment.
According to Scott's statement, he'd left home around eleven thirty
am with Sebastian in the back seat, and drove to
Classic Cuts for a haircut. He told investigators Sebastian had
seemed a little sick that morning, but didn't show any
(03:21):
signs of distress. Despite that, Scott left the toddler strapped
in his car seat in the truck while he went inside.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Something you never do with children of any age, no
matter how much work that you feel it takes, you
take your children with you.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
It was ninety to ninety two degrees outside that day,
and Scott said that he turned the engine off, cracked
the windows, and placed a small battery powered fan in
the front seat aimed vaguely toward the back.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Is he serious right now? If you've never been to Florida,
you wouldn't understand the heat and humidity. I know you
heard the temperature, but it might have actually felt like
one hundred degrees. What's a crack in the window an
a measly fan going to do in temperatures like that.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Investigators later said this did almost nothing to reduce the
heat inside the truck. They determined the back seat where
Sebastian sat would have reached temperatures as high as one
hundred eleven degrees within minutes. After finishing his haircut around noon,
Scott crossed the street to Hanky Panky's Lounge in Ormond
by the Sea.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
He didn't at least stop and check on his child.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
No, In fact, he stayed in the lounge for nearly
three hours, drinking beer and whisky. He reportedly drank at
least two rounds of beer and shots of Fireball Slash
whisky and.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Enjoying their ear conditioning.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Hold on was he planning on driving after this?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Witnesses said Scott had brought Sebastian into the bar on
other occasions, but on this day no one saw the child.
At one point, around one thirty pm, there was a
commotion in the parking lot after a customer accidentally backed
into a bartender's car. Scott went outside to inspect the damage,
walked right past his truck and went back inside without
(05:04):
checking on his son. Sheriff Mike Chitwood later said, how
in the.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
World can you be so messed up that you'd walk
outside check on a car and not your child.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
By the time Scott left the bar between two forty
and three pm, Sebastian had been alone in the sweltering
truck for more than three hours. After learning that Sebastian
was gone, Scott was placed under mental health observation under
Florida's Baker Act, but once he was released, he went
back home, and later that same evening he and Jody
(05:36):
went right back to Hanky Panky's lounge. Witnesses said they
stayed there until nearly midnight, ordering cocktails and appearing not
as distraught as you'd expect.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Sheriff Chitwood said, father of.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
The year, baby is dead, Investigations still going on, and
what does he do. He picks up his mother and
they go back to the bar for a few more cocktails.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
At that point, the investigationation was well underway. Detectives reviewed
Scott's timeline, interviewed witnesses, and examined surveillance footage from nearby businesses.
They also pulled his phone data and bartabs, confirming how
long he'd been inside. Meanwhile, Scott gave multiple versions of
what happened. In one account, he claimed he had performed
(06:20):
CPR and that Sebastian's eyes briefly opened, a statement police
immediately disproved, since the toddler was already in rigor mortis
when first responders arrived. Police believed that Jody didn't fully
understand what had happened that day, but a few days later,
on June tenth, she made a post on Facebook asking
(06:41):
people to help her son. She mentioned Sebastian's passing and
linked to a gofund me page. The reaction was instant
and brutal comments poured in, calling Scott the sole reason
this poor baby is gone and saying he murdered his baby. Finally,
two weeks after the death, police obtained a warrant for
(07:04):
Scott's arrest. On June nineteenth, twenty twenty five, officers arrived
at JODI's house and took him into custody. Body cam
footage captured officers entering the enclosed porch and confronting him.
Someone off camera could be heard saying we love you.
Scott replied I love you, guys, before an officer cut
(07:25):
in and said, say goodbye, because you're not coming back
here again.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Shameful.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Scott was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child and
child neglect causing great bodily harm. The same Ormond Beach
officer who had tried to save Sebastian was the one
who made the arrest. He appeared before a judge five
days later for a pre trialed attention hearing, and the
court ordered him held without bail at the Velusia County Jail,
(07:53):
though earlier records showed one charge had a bond set
at one hundred thousand dollars. His arraignment was scared jeweled
for July eighth. According to Florida law, aggravated manslaughter of
a child is a first degree felony punishable by up
to thirty years in prison and substantial finds. Florida law
(08:14):
defines this charge as the unlawful killing of a minor
under eighteen due to reckless or grossly negligent behavior. Prosecutors
are building their case around Scott's actions. On June sixth,
Sheriff Chitwood told reporters this was not a case of forgetfulness.
He said, Scott didn't just forget his child, calling it
(08:34):
completely different and intentional.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
This father is a human piece of garbage and a
lying sack of crap. I don't think there's a penalty
on this earth that could ever fit the crime that
was committed here. My hope for him is that every night,
when he closes his eyes and every morning when he
opens them, his son Sebastian is sitting there asking Dad,
why did you do this to me.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
At the time of this episode, Scott is still in
custody awaiting trial. The prosecution was expected to rely heavily
on the surveillance footage, witness statements, and temperature analysis showing
how hot the truck became that day. The defense had
not yet presented a full strategy, though Scott's earlier claim
that he tried to keep the truck cool might be
(09:18):
used in an attempt to argue negligence rather than intent
freaking defense. Sebastian's death marked Florida's seventh hot car fatality
of twenty twenty five, and the one hundred fifteenth child
in the state to die this way since nineteen ninety two.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a child's
(09:39):
body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's.
Cracking the windows or using a fan does little to
prevent the temperature inside a parked car from reaching lethal levels.
Neither does cracking windows or parking in the shade. Every year,
these preventable deaths repeat, often with the same explanation distraction
stress routine. But in this case, investigate to say it
(10:05):
wasn't about forgetting, it was about choice.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
This case made me so angry. How do you leave
your baby in a hot truck for three hours while
you sit in a bar drinking whiskey? That's not forgetfulness,
that's neglect, pure and simple. And then to go back
to the same bar later that night. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
What gets me the most is that this was completely avoidable.
Scott had so many options. Taking him inside, with him,
inside of a place he shouldn't have been in the
first place, stay at home, take Sebastian somewhere family friendly,
or just stay home with your son. Sebastian was only
eighteen months old. He had no chance to save himself,
(10:47):
no way to call out for help, no way to
escape that heat. He trusted his father, and his father
failed him in the worst possible way.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
What do you think of this case, Lambs? Should cases
like this be treated as manslaughter or should they be
charged as murder? Let me know your thoughts in the
comments or over in the Patreon. Don't forget to subscribe
to the Patreon so you can keep helping us tell
these stories and being a voice for the victims like Sebastian.
Choose the five dollars a month bonus here at patreon
(11:18):
dot com slash Love and Murder. Your support helps kai, research, write,
and share these cases so they're never forgotten. In return,
you become the voice of Sebastian. Get monthly extra episodes
and random extras that Kai likes to share with her lambfam, Patreon,
dot com, slash Love and Murder.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Thank you for listening and for caring, and we'll see
you in the next episode.
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