Lots of speculation taking place here.

I'll make some:

After midnight - Mom takes her kid WITH her to go shopping. Why? Does she work all day? Does she have NO ONE to leave the kid with, and rather than leave him home alone, this is the least objectionable option?

Why leave him in the car? He's sleeping, and he WILL sleep through till she comes back....was the car locked? Did she assume he'd be fine and sleep the whole time. She probably had done it in the past.

I'm not going to pile on with the HEAT IN THE CAR issue because it WAS midnight....

I'll just end with this statement:
Most of you would have VILIFIED HER if she'd aborted him. Here''s a mom trying to do the best she could, and apparently - according to you judgmental SOB's - it's still not enough.

Would *I* have left my kid in the seat of a car and go into a store and shop? I hope not. But we really don't know what led her to think this was the best choice she could make.

This was a tragedy. Nothing more.