BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

A former contracted Department of Human Resources worker charged in connection to the death of a toddler in a hot car is asking for evidence in her case to be preserved.

Kela Stanford is charged with being a person for hire responsible for a child under the age of seven and leaving them unattended in a vehicle "in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm," according to a release by District Attorney Danny Carr.

The child, 3-year-old Ke’Torrius Starkes Jr., of Bessemer, was found in a hot car outside a home on Pine Tree Drive, according to the coroner. The child had been left alone in the car between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m. The heat index was in the triple digits that day.

Stanford's attorney recently filed a

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