Ormond Man Arrested for Aggravated Manslaughter, Child Neglect

33-year-old Ormond Beach resident Scott Gardner was arrested on Thursday for aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm. He’s accused of playing a key role in the death of his 18-month-old son Sebastian, who passed away on Friday, June 6th. According to a release from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Gardner left his son in a hot truck for more than three hours while he went to get a haircut, and then had drinks at Hanky Panky’s Lounge in Ormond Beach on SR-A1A. The VSO says that during the investigation into Sebastian’s tragic death, Gardner gave ‘multiple false accounts’ about the events that transpired leading up to it. Medical personnel investigated and determined that the temperature inside Gardner’s vehicle reached around 111 degrees Fahrenheit. According to information disclosed by Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Friday, Sebastian is believed to have been left in the car for about two hours and 40 minutes. Gardner is reported to have not led the air conditioner on or checked on Sebastian, who’d been dead for over an hour by the time he was taken to the hospital. Temperatures outside were pushing 90 degrees. By Thursday, Gardner was arrested at his mother’s home by the Ormond Beach Police Department and Volusia Sheriff’s Office. According to the VSO, it was the same OBPD officer who had attempted to revive Sebastian that handcuffed Gardner. He’s now being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail without bond.