A Georgia mother charged with second-degree murder after her one-year-old son died in a hot car has requested to have the charge temporarily dismissed so she can attend his funeral. Deja Coleman, 29, was arrested on July 29 after her son, Daniel, was found deceased inside her locked vehicle in the employee parking lot of Northside Gwinnett Hospital, where she worked as a nursing assistant.
During a preliminary hearing at the Gwinnett County Detention Center on Tuesday, Coleman's defense attorney, Tom Ford, asked for the murder charge to be dropped. Ford proposed that prosecutors could re-indict Coleman the day after her son's ceremony. "It would be a resolution in good faith recognizing lack of prior history, recognizing the circumstances of the arrest," Ford told the courtroom. He argued that a "dead child in a car with a wailing mother in the parking lot is not murder" and that the situation was a "mistake."
However, the magistrate judge denied the request, stating she did not have the authority to grant any bond. "Only the state has the authority to negotiate with you about bond," the judge informed Ford. Assistant District Attorney Megan Matteucci also opposed the request, asserting that it was inappropriate for a preliminary hearing and that she was prepared to proceed with the warrants issued by the police.
Ford subsequently waived the hearing, which will advance Coleman's case to Gwinnett County Superior Court. Coleman has been held without bond at the Gwinnett County Jail since her arrest on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.
According to a bond motion filed by Ford, Coleman is a domestic violence survivor living in a transitional housing community. The motion stated that she is a certified nursing assistant and a single mother raising a six-year-old son with nonverbal autism and a four-year-old child. On the day of Daniel's death, Coleman was allegedly exhausted and had very little sleep. Police reported that Coleman had followed her normal routine of dropping off her two older children at daycare, one of whom requires special attention due to medical needs. She then returned to work at the hospital around 6:55 a.m., reportedly forgetting to take Daniel inside with her.
Daniel was discovered in his car seat around 3:50 p.m. by a hospital employee walking to their car. The employee found the one-year-old slumped over inside the vehicle. Lawrenceville Police responded within minutes, broke the car window, but determined Daniel was already deceased. The temperature inside the car was recorded at 117 degrees Fahrenheit approximately one hour after the window was broken. Police identified the vehicle as belonging to Coleman, found her, and informed her of the situation. Cpt. Dena Pauly of the Lawrenceville Police Department stated on July 30 that Coleman "forgot" and was "devastated."
Daniel's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.