Mother charged with murder after toddler found dead in locked car at Gwinnett County hospital, police say
A mother has been charged with murder after her 1-year-old son was found dead inside a locked vehicle on Wednesday, police say.
Officials with the Lawrenceville Police Department tell CBS News Atlanta that officers were called to Northside Gwinnett Hospital around 3:50 p.m. after receiving a report of a child inside a vehicle.
The officers quickly found the vehicle in the hospital's employee parking lot and broke a window to get the child out and perform life-saving measures. The 1-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The temperature inside the car one hour after the child was removed and the window was broken was 117 degrees, Lawrenceville Police Captain Dena Pauly said during a press conference.
After running the vehicle's tag, officers identified the child's mother as 29-year-old Deja Coleman, an employee at the hospital, Pauly said.
During an interview, Coleman told investigators that she had taken her other two children to daycare but forgot to go back to the car and retrieve her son, officials said. Coleman had arrived at the parking lot at 6:55 a.m.
Coleman was taken to the Gwinnett County Detention Center. She has now been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.
Officials urge taking a 2nd look after deadly tragedy
According to the National Safety Council, there have been 17 pediatric hot car deaths in the United States in 2026. Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning spokesperson Reg Griffin said this is the first case for Georgia.
Griffin said the state agency works directly in the licensing and regulation of roughly 4,000 childcare programs in the state and other children-related efforts and called the situation a heartbreaking reminder for parents or caregivers to make a habit out of checking a vehicle several times before turning it off and locking it.
"The bottom line is they have lost a child, and it could've been prevented," Griffin said. "It's always sad when you realize that with just some safeguards and a change in routine, that you can prevent something like this. Usually what you see in a case like this is they're distracted, might be something going on at home, something going on at work."
"If she was doing this as a matter of routine, that raises some red flags," Griffin continued. "Even that early in the morning because you may forget it might be cooler in the morning and then you think it'll be OK. The heat inside a car is so much hotter than the outside temperature."
