WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A 74-year-old grandmother has been arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter following the hot car death of her 17-month-old granddaughter earlier this year, authorities said Wednesday.
Karen Denise Benyard was taken into custody on August 26, 2026, and booked into the Polk County Jail on a first-degree felony charge of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child.
According to Winter Haven police, the incident occurred on March 31, 2026. Earlier that afternoon, Benyard picked up the toddler and a relative from Lake Wales, where the family member had been babysitting while the child’s mother worked in Winter Haven…