‘The pain that we feel is gut-wrenching’: Parents heartbroken after 2-year old found dead in car



LAWRENCE, Kan. -- With Kansas police still investigating the tragic death of a 2-year-old found dead in a car Sunday evening, Aug. 11, the boy's parents said they're still trying to make sense of the situation.

“The pain that we feel is gut-wrenching, and to lose a child and know that you could not be there to save them is, by far, the worst feeling in the world," said Kristina Turner, the boy's mother. "You are not supposed to bury your children. They are supposed to bury you."

It’s a tragedy the Turners said they never could have predicted or prepared for.

According to his parents, their son, Devonte Turner, had been staying with his grandparents for the past three weeks.

He was also in their care when he was found dead Sunday in Lawrence.

"I have a hard time trusting anyone with my kids as it is, but I did trust in my family to provide that care for him, and to make sure that he would never be in a dangerous situation," Kristina Turner said. "So it hurts a lot more than we can ever describe. It’s something that we could not stop, and had we had the power. Our son, he knows how much we love him. He knows we would have saved him."

The couple said they would continue to be their son’s voice, and warn other parents about what can happen.

“Hold your kids near and dear to you," said Travis Turner, the 2-year-old boy's father. "Keep them close, because you don’t know, day-to-day life, what can come or happen next."

The couple said all they want is answers, and justice for a life gone way too soon.

“I know that he’s with me right now, and he’s trying to say, 'Mommy, I’m OK,'" said Kristina Turner. "I hold it in my heart that he is all right. He is no longer suffering."

The family started a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral arrangements.

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday.