Inset: Nyla Simmons (Lee County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Kia dealership in Albany, Georgia, where she allegedly left her 7-month-old baby in her vehicle (Google Maps).
Nyla Simmons, aged 22, is charged with second-degree murder and child cruelty, as reported by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The investigation began on October 16 when Simmons transported her unresponsive baby from the Kia Automotive Dealership on Ledo Road in Albany to a nearby hospital. Located in the southwestern region of Georgia, the hospital staff unfortunately declared the infant, whose name has not been disclosed, deceased.
As per reports from local NBC and ABC affiliate WALB, Simmons had left the child in the vehicle while she attended to her duties at the dealership. Upon discovering the baby was unresponsive, she promptly drove to seek medical help. An autopsy was conducted the following day, though the findings have yet to be released.
Coroner Michael Fowler explained to WALB that the process of obtaining results can be prolonged.
“If there are no visible injuries or trauma to the child, we often must wait for toxicology and histology reports to determine the cause,” Fowler shared with the station.
“If there is not any trauma to the child or injuries to the child, then a lot of time, you got to wait on [toxicology] and the histology, all of that, to come in and see what happened,” Fowler told the TV station.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to investigate the incident. Agents arrested Simmons on Nov. 3.
While it is unclear how long Simmons allegedly left the baby in the car, temperatures in Albany reached a blazing 88 degrees on the day in question, according to Weather Underground.
Simmons remains in the Lee County Jail.
