Investigators are examining conflicting accounts of who was supposed to remove the sleeping 5-year-old from the family vehicle.
PEORIA, Ariz. — A dispute over who was responsible for getting a 5-year-old boy out of a family vehicle has become a central issue in the investigation that led to the arrests of the child’s parents after he was found unresponsive and later died.
Peoria police arrested Mihail Sabo and Anca Sabo following the death of their son Sunday, Sept. 13. Police recommended negligent homicide and child abuse charges after investigators determined the boy remained in the vehicle for more than two and a half hours following the family’s return from a church baptism.
The family arrived home at about 1 p.m., according to investigators. Authorities said Anca Sabo believed her husband was responsible for getting the boy out of the vehicle. Mihail Sabo told investigators he had asked his 14-year-old son to bring the 5-year-old inside. The teenager, however, told investigators he did not remember receiving that instruction.
The conflicting accounts are significant because investigators are trying to establish how the child remained unnoticed in the vehicle until shortly after 3:45 p.m. That was when family members realized he was missing and began looking for him. His mother eventually found him unresponsive inside the vehicle.
Family members removed the boy and began CPR before police and Peoria Fire-Medical personnel arrived. Emergency crews transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities had not publicly released a final medical cause of death as of Tuesday.
William Kennedy of the Peoria Police Department said the circumstances appeared to involve a breakdown in communication about which family member was supposed to get the child from the car. Prosecutors, however, emphasized during the parents’ court appearance that the boy remained in the vehicle for more than two and a half hours while his parents did not know where he was.
The defense has pushed back against the criminal allegations. An attorney for the family described the death as a tragic accident and argued that the parents’ conduct after finding the boy showed that they were trying to save him. The attorney said the mother called 911, participated in lifesaving efforts and answered investigators’ questions.
At an initial court appearance Monday, a judge set a $150,000 secured appearance bond for each parent. The parents were ordered not to contact each other. They were permitted to have supervised contact with their other children. The restrictions are conditions imposed while the case proceeds and do not amount to a finding of guilt.
The available accounts leave several questions unresolved, including precisely what was said when the family arrived home and what evidence investigators believe supports the recommended charges. The child’s name has not been publicly released, and police say the investigation remains ongoing.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.