Agony, questions follow baby's death in a parked car

FALL RIVER -- Marie Heyliger found her baby girl lifeless in the afternoon sun. She was swathed in a bright pink mini-track suit, her face pale, her cherubic body tightly belted in a car seat, her eyes closed, and her breath gone, witnesses said.

''There was horrible screaming and pounding and banging," said Terri Viveiros, 41, of Fall River, who was buying ice cream at a nearby store and happened on the scene. ''It was horrible to hear the screams of that mother."

Brianna Marie Correa, 1, of New Bedford died Wednesday after at least seven hours inside her mother's sport utility vehicle with the windows all closed, authorities said.

Yesterday, prosecutors, police, and social workers investigated her death, seeking to piece together the events that led to Heyliger's horrific discovery.

''We don't have all the pieces yet, but it's all starting to look like a really tragic accident," said a state official briefed on the probe, who requested anonymity.

Police have not charged anyone with wrongdoing. Late into yesterday afternoon, investigators interviewed Heyliger, 29, and her boyfriend, as well as other family members.

''The death of a child is a tragedy in any family," said Bristol District Attorney Paul F. Walsh Jr. ''We do not want to compound the tragedy by rushing to judgment, by rushing our investigation, or by making any public comment until all the facts are known."

Authorities said Brianna should have spent the entire day at the Rainbow Day Care Center in New Bedford, where she was regularly cared for. Her older brothers, ages 6 and 7, also attend an after-school program there. Typically, the two boys returned home on the bus with the baby. But on Wednesday, they came back without her, alarming their grandmother, authorities said.

The grandmother called the day-care center and was told the baby had never arrived that morning. She quickly called Heyliger, who was at work at a call center in a shopping plaza on President Avenue. She ran out of work and found her daughter dead at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Officials said the day-care center was not obligated to alert Heyliger that her daughter never showed up.

''We're looking into it, but preliminary indication is that they didn't do anything wrong," said Dena Papanikolaou, general counsel for the state Department of Early Education and Care, which regulates day-care centers. ''They followed their own internal procedures."

Apparently, Heyliger had driven to work with Brianna in a car seat placed in the back seat of the car, said Denise Monteiro, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services. The car seat faces backward, not unusual for toddler safety seats, making it difficult for anyone driving to detect the presence of a quiet child, authorities said. It was unclear yesterday who put the baby in the car or who should have dropped her at day care.

What is clear is that she perished under grueling circumstances.

''She looked dead. Blue. Discolored. Foaming at the mouth," said Patricia Bonanca, 28, who was doing laundry nearby and called 911. ''I held the baby's hand to check the pulse, and there wasn't any."

Bonanca said she got a good look at the SUV. ''All the windows were rolled up," she said.

Heyliger went into hysterics, and her boyfriend pulled up about 30 minutes later, Bonanca said. ''He threw himself on the ground and on the back of his car. He was saying something, screaming something, but I couldn't understand."

DSS reported that neither Heyliger nor her family had ever been investigated for child-care problems. The investigation could last through next week.

''If the windows are up and it's a sunny day, even on a cool sunny day, the reflection of the sun and lack of ventilation can cause temperatures of up to 100 degrees," said Monteiro. ''We've interviewing everyone who was in the series of events leading up to this tragedy, to see where the gap was."

At the child's home in New Bedford, a well-maintained three-story house, relatives somberly gathered yesterday.

''She was a happy child," said a woman who identified herself only as the baby's godmother. ''She brought light to our life. I lost somebody I loved."

''Everybody else in the neighborhood trusts their kids with them; she keeps her house immaculate," said Heyliger's next-door neighbor, Joanne Papetti. ''She's probably the most normal person around here."

Debora Coelho, a candidate for New Bedford City Council, remembered meeting the family once two months ago, while campaigning through the area. ''They live in a rough neighborhood," she said. ''It doesn't seem the disease of roughness has afflicted their home, and that's pretty rare. They're the ones that shine forth."