A one-year-old baby who died after being left in a hot car has been pictured.
Olivia was found unresponsive in a vehicle outside Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre in Earlwood, in Sydney‘s south-west, just after 5.30pm on Tuesday.
It’s understood the baby’s father Etienne Ancelet had arrived at the daycare to pick up his daughter, but was told she was never dropped off.
He discovered Olivia was still strapped in her baby capsule in the car.
Mr Ancelet’s piercing screams could be heard as neighbours desperately tried to revive baby Olivia before paramedics arrived five minutes later.
‘I killed my daughter! Kill me! Kill me! F*** I can’t process this,’ he was heard screaming before he was taken to hospital suffering from shock.
Olivia, who celebrated her first birthday a few weeks ago, died at the scene.
Police believe the little girl had been mistakenly left in the car for an ‘extended period of time’ as temperatures soared above 30C in Sydney.
Baby Olivia (pictured) was found unresponsive in a car outside Jelly Beings Early Learning Centre in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood just after 5.30pm on Tuesday
Etienne Ancelet and his partner Kim are pictured with baby Olivia on her first birthday
The exact circumstances of what happened are still being investigated.
Roy Gomes was mowing his lawn when he heard the chilling cries of the devastated father as he made the tragic discovery, then tried in vain to revive her.
‘I heard screaming and ran out and saw the father with the baby,’ said Mr Gomes, whose home neighbours the childcare centre.
‘I took her off him and tried CPR for about five minutes until ambulance arrived.
‘All the neighbours were really good at putting water on her, trying to cool her down because she was obviously still very hot.
‘But she was just floppy and there was no life.’
Emergency services raced to the scene on Marana Road but paramedics were unable to revive the one-year-old.
Police have established a crime scene and started a major investigation.
Jelly Beings Early learning centre in Earlwood, in Sydney’s south-west, is pictured
Several mothers were seen leaving bouquets of flowers outside the daycare centre
Detectives were seen arriving at the childcare centre on Wednesday as parents arrived to drop their kids off for the day.
Several left bouquets of flowers at the gate and on the nature strip.
A neighbour confirmed the sign for the childcare centre had been removed from the front yard following the horrific incident.
‘Leaving a child in a vehicle at any time can be dangerous,’ Superintendent Christine McDonald told reporters on Tuesday night.
‘Leaving a child inside a vehicle for an extended period of time can be deadly. This is an absolute tragedy.
‘It’s something that affects the wider community as well… This has a rippling effect right throughout our community because so many of us can put ourselves in a similar situation.’
No charges have been laid over the tragedy.
‘Once he’s able to, we’ll speak to him to obtain more details,’ Supt McDonald said.
Olivia’s mother is also assisting police.
The distraught dad screamed in horror after he realised his baby daughter was still in the car
Posts online show Mr Ancelet as a loving father who readily embraced being a first-time parent.
In March, he shared a photo of him and Olivia napping together with his little girl fast asleep in his arms.
Alongside the image he wrote: ‘My most memorable birthday yet’.
In the hours after his daughter’s death, Mr Ancelet changed his social media profile pictures to black tiles.
Emergency responders who attended the ‘deeply traumatic’ incident will be offered support.
‘I’m a mother, you can imagine how traumatic, you just – in fact, you can’t even imagine it,’ Supt McDonald said.
‘So no doubt the parents will be extremely upset. ‘
The latest tragedy comes just two days after the second anniversary of the death of toddler Arikh Hasan, who was left in a car for six hours on a 35C day in Glenfield in Sydney’s south-west in February 2023.
Newaz Hasan bundled his two sons into his car for the morning school run, dropping his eldest at primary school and believing he had dropped his youngest to daycare before returning to their Glenfield home to work.
