A Florida pastor was arrested following the death of her 11-month-old daughter in a hot car.
Bulaine Molme, a co-pastor at Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church in Palm Bay, had assumed that her youngest child, Fendra, was brought inside the church for a Sunday service. Tragically, it turned out that the baby had been left inside the car on an 81-degree day.
According to the arrest affidavit, on May 28, Molme, 37, arrived late at the service with her four children, aged between 11 months and eight years. She watched her three older children enter the church with another member while she was retrieving her Bible and laptop from her Ford Explorer’s trunk. She thought that her youngest had also been escorted inside, which was their regular Sunday practice.
Molme did not park her vehicle in the usual spot in front of the church entrance on that day. Instead, she parked on the side of the church, unaware that her youngest daughter was still in the car. Neither Molme nor her husband, Jnmarc Molme, who was playing the piano during the service, realized that Fendra was missing until after the service.
Prompted by questions about their daughter’s whereabouts, the couple hurried to their car, only to find Fendra unresponsive in her car seat. They immediately sought assistance, with Jnmarc performing CPR on his daughter. Despite rushing Fendra to Palm Bay Community Hospital, she could not be revived. She had succumbed to hyperthermia from overheating, with her body temperature reaching a deadly 108 degrees.
Following the incident, Bulaine Molme was arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated manslaughter of a child. She was later released from jail after posting a $15,000 bond. Her arraignment is scheduled for June 27.
