(KALAMAZOO) – An Athens man has been sentenced in connection with the death of his son in the summer of 2024.

Kalamazoo County Circuit Court online records show that 36 year old Chad Martin was sentenced Thursday to nine months in jail, starting in February 2026, along with three years of probation. The reason for the delay is that a status conference will be held in December to check on Martin’s probation, at which time the judge will make a decision on if Martin will serve the jail time.

According to records obtained by Swick Broadcasting from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office, Deputies along with the Vicksburg Police Department were called to the parking lot of the Family Fare Grocery Store in Vicksburg just after 3 PM on August 3. Martin came out of the store and found his three year old son dead in his car seat.

Martin told officers that he had left his house in Athens with his son and daughter at 6 AM. He dropped his daughter off at her day care and forgot his son was in the vehicle, and drove to work in Vicksburg.

After work, Martin says he went to the store, where cameras have him coming in at 3:05 PM and leaving at 3:15 PM. As he was putting the groceries in his vehicle Martin noticed his son in the car seat, unresponsive.

Authorities determined the boy was dead, and that he died between 7 AM and 3 PM while Martin father was at work. It’s believed that the child died from heat exhaustion, but no official cause of death has been announced.