A 36-year-old Osaka man and his 19-year-old wife were arrested on suspicion of leaving their 3-month-old son alone at home overnight, the Osaka Prefectural Police said Tueday, adding the baby apparently died of heatstroke during that time.
The son was found face down in his crib and not breathing, and was confirmed dead later at a hospital.
An autopsy showed the baby died of possible heatstroke, according to investigators. It is unlikely the boy died because he was lying on his face, they said.
The father, whose name was not disclosed, reportedly told investigators that the couple had left their son at home alone a couple of times before and thought he would be all right.
The couple were arrested for allegedly leaving the sleeping son in their apartment in Osaka's Suminoe Ward at around 11 p.m. Sunday and spent the night at a hotel in Osaka, police officials said.
They reportedly said they fed the son milk and put him in bed and left him with the air conditioner on.
The wife, who came back at around 9 a.m. Monday, noticed something was wrong with the baby and the husband, who currently lives separate from the family, called an ambulance.
