An Atlanta mother accused of leaving her teething toddler inside a sweltering car for at least seven hours has persuaded a judge to release her from custody, arguing that she needs to care for her two surviving children.
Deja Coleman, a 29-year-old nurse, has pleaded not guilty to charges tied to the death of her 16-month-old son, Daniel, who died in the vehicle on July 29 while she was at work.
During a court appearance Wednesday, Coleman asked to be granted bond so she could look after her other children: a four-year-old and a nonverbal six-year-old with special needs, Court TV reported.
Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins approved Coleman’s release on a $5,000 bond, ordering her to remain under house arrest and wear an ankle monitor.
Prosecutors strongly objected to the decision, telling the court that Coleman had allegedly been reminded about the toddler’s absence after dropping off her other two children at daycare.
Prosecutor Megan Mateucci said Coleman entered the daycare with two of her children while 16-month-old Daniel remained in the car outside.
As Coleman put away the other children’s lunchboxes, Mateucci said, a daycare worker asked where the toddler was.
Coleman allegedly responded that she would bring him inside in just a minute.
Deja Coleman, 29, pleaded not guilty as to charges related to the death of her 16-month-old son who after being left in a hot car for more than seven hours
Daniel was found dead after by an employee at Northside Hospital, where Coleman worked, in the backseat of Coleman’s car
The nurse was granted a $5,000 bond by Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins, who ordered Coleman to remain on house arrest with an ankle monitor
‘She’s reminded right there, by that daycare worker, about the baby,’ Mateucci said, Court TV reported.
Investigators said, however, that the child was never brought into the daycare and Coleman drove to Northside Hospital, where she worked as a certified nursing assistant, according to the outlet.
Coleman was allegedly on FaceTime while dropping her children off at daycare and driving to work, prosecutors said.
An employee going to their own car discovered the child in Coleman’s backseat after around eight hours. The toddler, wearing sweatpants and covered with a blanket, was already dead, the outlet reported.
The temperature inside the car was measured at around 117 degrees after the doors were pulled open 30 minutes beforehand.
Paramedics estimated the car temperature reached around 130 degrees before emergency crews reached the scene, according to Court TV.
‘The evidence is not that this was an intentional killing,’ Mateucci said in court on Wednesday. ‘The evidence is that this was a negligent act and that her recklessness, her negligence, caused the death of this kid.’
As prosecutors argued against Coleman’s release, the mother was seen shaking her head.
Paramedics estimated the car temperature reached around 130 degrees before emergency crews reached the scene
Coleman worked as a certified nursing assistant at Northside Hospital
However, Trinity Hundredmark, Coleman’s defense attorney, argued that the ‘tragic accident’ happened during a time that her client ‘lacked some support.’
‘She was a domestic violence survivor who left an abusive relationship to protect her children,’ Hundredmark said at the hearing this week.
‘So, Judge, if anything, all signs point to Ms Coleman as a protector of her children and not a harm to her children.
‘Unfortunately, this tragedy happened, but it was not violent and it was not intentional.’
Adkins said she didn’t believe Coleman to be a flight risk or a risk to the community.
The judge did not prohibit her from seeing her two children, but ruled that the mother is not allowed to drive them.
Coleman was granted an allowance to ride in a vehicle with her children with a licensed and insured adult driving.
Coleman’s ‘Aunt’ Twrnia Hardy wrote on Facebook that Coleman suffered through ‘homelessness, abuse, and many struggles.’
The judge did not prohibit Coleman from seeing her two children, but decreed that the mother wasn’t allowed to drive them. Coleman was granted an allowance to ride in a vehicle with her children with a licensed and insured adult driving
Coleman was previously temporarily released and allowed to attend her baby’s funeral service at Hollifield Mortuary Chapel in Atlanta in August
‘Yet she still remain strong, not complaining but enduring through it all. She was in a homeless shelter/safe house to placing the kids in a safe place until she obtained work [sic],’ ‘ Hardy wrote.
‘She loved her children and didn’t trust or leave them with just anyone. In fact, she remained at the shelter until she found a stable place for them, then she went to work,
‘Daniel has passed, Dinero and Dakota seriously need their Mom, she is all they have. Their little smiles have been taunted by sadness.
‘We all make mistakes and this was truly one of them. Stand behind her and rally for her. We knew her and we know what type of Mom she is. She is hurting so much right now because of what happened. You all don’t know her and this is why I’m trying to tell her story the best way I can.’
Coleman was previously granted temporary release and allowed to attend her baby’s funeral service at Hollifield Mortuary Chapel in Atlanta in August.
She denies charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.
