Gwinnett mom charged in son's hot-car death seeking bond
Mom charged for hot car death of son due in court
Deja Coleman, 29, is scheduled for a bond hearing Wednesday in Gwinnett County Superior Court. Coleman is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children after investigators say her 1-year-old son, Daniel, died after being left in her car while she worked.
GWINNETT COIUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County mother charged with murder after her 1-year-old son died in a hot car is expected back in court Wednesday morning as her attorney seeks to have her released on bond.
ORIGINAL STORY: Gwinnett mother charged after boy dies in hot car
What we know:
Deja Coleman, 29, is scheduled for a bond hearing in Gwinnett County Superior Court. She has been jailed since her arrest in July on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.
Child found dead after mother went to work
What happened:
Investigators say Coleman left her 1-year-old son, Daniel, inside her vehicle while she worked at Northside Hospital Gwinnett in July.
According to police, Coleman dropped off her two other children at daycare but forgot to take Daniel out of the vehicle before going to work.
The boy was found inside the vehicle hours later.
Coleman was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with her son's death.
Attorney calls death a 'tragic accident'
What they're saying:
Coleman's attorney has argued that what happened was a tragic accident, not murder.
"A dead child in a car with a wailing mother in the parking lot is not murder," her attorney said.
Last month, Coleman's attorney waived her preliminary hearing, sending the case to Gwinnett County Superior Court.
Supporters point to sleep deprivation
Supporters have also rallied around Coleman, arguing that severe sleep deprivation contributed to her forgetting that Daniel was still in the vehicle.
"It's important to recognize that this fatal memory error is a result of a flaw in brain functioning, not a flaw in the love a parent has for a child," one supporter said.
Coleman has remained incarcerated since her July arrest. According to her attorney, she has left the jail only for court appearances and to attend her son's funeral.
Wednesday's hearing, currently scheduled for 9:30 a.m., will determine whether Coleman can be released on bond while the criminal case moves forward.
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