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Dad charged after three-year-old burned alive in car

A father has been charged with murder after allegedly trapping his three-year-old daughter in a car and burning her alive inside following a bitter custody battle.

New York police pulled the severely burned toddler from the charred car at a Queens intersection earlier this month.

The child, identified as Zoey Pereira, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but she could not be saved.

Officers discovered her 39-year-old father Martin Pereira, covered in burns, in a nearby park.

Police allege the man left his daughter to burn alive in the car, which had been chained shut from the inside, the New York Post reported.

Martin Pereira, pictured left, trapped his three-year-old daughter Zoey, pictured, in a burning car at Queens, New York. Source: Facebook / Martin Pereira
Martin Pereira has been charged with murder after daughter Zoey was trapped in burning car. Source: Facebook / Martin Pereira

Pereira was charged with murder, arson, and reckless endangerment for the May 5 tragedy at Springfield Gardens, according to the news outlet

The incident reportedly followed a bitter custody battle with Zoey’s mother and Pereira’s former partner Cherone Coleman.

In a heated phone call in the hours before her daughter’s death, Ms Coleman said Pereira threatened the woman would never see her daughter again, she told The Post.

Authorities were notified, but the worried mother reportedly had no idea of the pair’s whereabouts at the time.

Pereira remains in hospital under police guard being treated for burns to 70 per cent of his body.

If you or someone you know is struggling call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the National sexual assault helpline 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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