An Oklahoma father whose two children died after spending five hours locked inside a hot truck has been released from jail after new surveillance footage showed the kids got into the vehicle on their own, authorities said Monday.
Dustin Lee Dennis, 31, was arrested Saturday on two second-degree murder warrants after his 4-year-old daughter, Tegan, and 3-year-old son, Ryan, were found dead at the scene, Tulsa police said.
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Dennis was released Monday after investigators reviewed a neighbor’s surveillance camera footage that showed the children climbing into the truck and “tragically” not coming back out, the Tulsa District Attorney Office said.
A judge had initially set a bond of $750,000, according to Tulsa County Jail records. The video evidence was presented to the judge, who then released Dennis. No formal charges have been filed.
Dennis had told police that he took his children to a QuikTrip convenience store around noon Saturday and returned home, where he went inside and fell asleep for four or five hours, FOX23 Tulsa previously reported.
He said that he woke up and found his children on the floorboard inside the truck. He called the police after he carried the children inside the house. Paramedics pronounced the children dead at the scene.
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The temperature hit low 90s in Tulsa on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
The DA’s office noted in a statement obtained by local news outlets that the Constitution guarantees the presumption of innocence for any person accused of or arrested for a crime unless a judge or jury determines otherwise.
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A memorial for the children will be held at the Pleasant View Baptist Church in Pryor on June 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.