A Georgia mother is facing second-degree murder and child cruelty charges after she allegedly forgot that her 1-year-old child was left in a hot car for nine hours while she worked.
Deja Coleman, 29, works at Northside Gwinnett Hospital in Gwinnett County. On Wednesday morning, police say she dropped her two older children off at daycare but forgot to return to the car for the baby, who was strapped into a car seat in the back, before driving to work, WSB-TV reports.
She drove to the hospital, where she began her shift around 6:55 a.m. while the baby was still in the rear of the vehicle.
Another employee at the hospital noticed the boy slumped in his car seat around 3:50 p.m. and called the police for assistance. Officers at the hospital were forced to break the car's window to reach the child. The boy was already dead when officers reached him, according to police.
The officers noted in their report that the temperature inside the car read 117 degrees even an hour after the window was broken.
One of Coleman's other children has special needs, so she has developed a strict pattern for her mornings to ensure all of her children are cared for, police said.
“Her normal routine is to take the older kids into daycare, come back and retrieve the baby out of the car seat,” Lawrenceville Police Captain Dena Pauly said at a news conference. “And unfortunately, yesterday morning, she forgot to make that second trip to the car.”
Detectives said that they do not believe that Coleman was distracted but rather overwhelmed, and noted that “she was devastated” when she was informed of what happened.
She is now facing charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children. Coleman was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail.
Pauly said parents who are feeling overwhelmed should try to slow down and seek assistance to help prevent future tragedies.
“Slow down,” she said. “Slow down in life. If you need help, seek help. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself so that you can take care of your children.”
