If you can't take care of a child or don't want to, it's really important to ask a family member or relative for help. If they also say no, you should definitely take the child to a hospital, fire department, or get in touch with child protective services. Every child should have a chance to live with someone who really cares.
Sadly, little Zaelynn never had that chance – and we must always remember her story.
It shocked even the most experienced officers.
Writing about kids who are hurt or suffer always makes me sad, and this story has some graphic details that might not be okay for everyone to read. So, please be careful. But I think it's really important to tell this story – because what does it say about us as people if we ignore these kids and don't help them get the justice they need?
A terrible story happened in Berne, Indiana, just a few months ago — a case that has really upset the whole community. The call came in on a chilly November day in 2024 — police were called to look into a death at a quiet apartment complex.
What they discovered would shock even the most experienced officers.
Authorities showed up to discover a young couple, Sintia Perez, 21, and Jace Hirschy, 23, along with their two small kids — but when they inquired about their third child, little Zaelynn, what the parents revealed next was truly horrifying.
As reported by WANE, the family of five lived in terrible conditions, with little Zaelynn having to sleep in a closet — her only source of warmth was a space heater that ran all night. Sadly, this sleeping situation turned out to be deadly.
Zaelynn passed away from hyperthermia, which means she overheated.
Slept in a closet
Court papers explained how an officer quickly felt a huge increase in temperature when he stepped from the bedroom into the closet.
Inside, the officers found a two-year-old girl lying on a dirty mattress in her crib, with her diaper not changed. Her tiny body looked discolored — a sad sign of the awful situation she was in.
An autopsy showed that the little girl's body temperature had risen to an alarming 109.4 degrees by the time the police got there. The mother, Sintia Perez, allegedly told investigators that she had put Zaelynn to bed around 7 p.m. the night before and had turned the heater up almost all the way.
The next day, she didn't wake up until 12:30 p.m.— but neither she nor Hirschy checked on their daughter until hours later, around 3 p.m. By that time, it was too late.
Police stated that the temperatures in the closet had hit a blistering 109 degrees near the ceiling, making it a deadly place for the helpless little girl.
Full of love and life
According to her obituary, Zaelynn was called a happy, fun-loving child.
“Zaelynn was full of love and life. She always seemed to have her tongue out having fun and being happy,” it said. “Zaelynn had big, beautiful crystal blue eyes and long, long eyelashes, and they lit up the room every time she smiled. Her whole family will miss this lively little girl a lot.”
A friend shared their sympathy with the family, writing, “We are so very sorry for the loss of your precious Zaelynn.”
According to WPTA, the older kids were living in a really unhealthy place. Their home had cockroaches everywhere, and there was a pot on the stove that was full of mold and had flies all over it.
The Department of Child Services took the couple's other two kids, who are 5 and 3 years old, because they both had lice.
Perez and Hirschy were arrested right away and charged with one count of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death (which is a Level 1 Felony), one count of Neglect of a Dependent (a Level 6 Felony), and another count of Neglect of a Dependent. They are now in Adams County Jail, and their jury trial is set for March 7, 2025.
If you think someone is being abused, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and private. The hotline is open 24/7 and can help in more than 170 languages.
