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BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - Months after a 3-year-old boy died while in the care of the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the contract worker charged in the case faced a preliminary court hearing.
Kela Stanford is accused of leaving 3-year-old Ketorrius “KJ” Starkes in a hot car for five hours while she was working for Covenant Services, a third-party contractor for DHR. She appeared in court for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
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Detectives testified at the hearing that Stanford made three stops that day, two of which were in the same block of the toddler’s daycare. She also returned home more than once while KJ was still in the backseat of her car, according to investigators.
“Instead of returning KJ back to the daycare where he was supposed to be, she went to a Church’s Chicken location across the street then to a pizza location. She was two blocks away from his daycare, and instead of returning KJ to his daycare, she drove home,” French said.
Detectives say Stanford admitted she was negligent while KJ was in her care. They say during the five hours he was left inside her vehicle, she was inside her home watching movies with family members and opening packages from Amazon.
https://www.wsfa.com/2025/10/02/painful ... -dhr-care/