Texas Teen Napped in Car, Then Allegedly Left Toddler Girls Inside to Die

An indictment was returned against Kevin Franke on July 23 — more than a year after the deaths of Addyson Overgard-Eddy, 2, and Brynn Hawkins, 1

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An 18-year-old man is facing two first-degree murder counts in Texas for his alleged role in the deaths of two toddler girls who were left in a car for 15 hours as temperatures outside reached the high-80s.

According to court records obtained by PEOPLE, Kevin Franke was indicted on July 23 — more than a year after the deaths of Addyson Overgard-Eddy, 2, and Brynn Hawkins, 1.

It was unclear Wednesday if Franke had entered pleas to the charges. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

In April, Franke was charged with two counts of manslaughter, injury to a child and child endangerment in connection with the deaths of the children. He entered not guilty pleas to the charges.

Addyson and Brynn died on June 7, 2017, after allegedly spending part of the previous night inside an SUV parked outside their mother’s Kerrville residence.

The girls’ mother, Amanda Hawkins, 20, allegedly left them in their car seats at around 9 p.m. on June 6, 2017.

Court documents allege Hawkins, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of injury to a child and two counts of child endangerment.

Authorities said that at some point in the evening, someone heard the girls crying and asked if they wanted to come in.

“She [Hawkins] said, ‘No, it’s fine. They’ll cry themselves to sleep,’ ” Kerr County, Texas, Sheriff W.R. “Rusty” Hierholzer alleged in an interview with the Washington Post.

The children were unconscious when they were pulled from the vehicle at 12 p.m. on June 7.

Hawkins, court documents allege, spent the previous night inside her home, socializing with friends. Her attorney was also unavailable for comment.

Kerr County Jail

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Authorities claim Franke, who has no relation to the victims, was one of those friends. At one point, the court papers allege he returned to the SUV, where he slept for several hours.

Franke told police he could not find a place inside Hawkins’ home to sleep, so decided to doze in the SUV, the indictment alleges.

Franke claims he did not know the children were in the car, and did not hear them make any sounds.

The indictment alleges Franke rolled up the SUV’s windows and shut the engine off when he exited the vehicle at 8 a.m. on June 7.

He is further accused of not taking the girls to the emergency room — an allegation also leveled against Hawkins.

Franke and Hawkins remain in police custody without bail.