BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WBRC ) - The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) has filed a motion to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit for 3-year-old Ke’Torrius “KJ” Starkes Jr.

The lawsuit was filed by Attorney G. Courtney French on behalf of KJ’s family in early August 2025.

KJ died on July 22 after being accidentally left inside a hot car for over five hours . At the time, KJ was in the custody of Kela Stanford, a woman who worked for Covenant Services, Inc. (CSI) , a third-party agency contracted by DHR to provide visitation supervision and transportation.

According to the lawsuit filed by French, Stanford stopped to pick up food for her family, and then delivered the food to her home while leaving KJ in the hot car with the windows rolled up. Stanford then left her home aga

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