A 29-year-old Georgia woman has been charged with second-degree murder after her 1-year-old son was found dead inside her car outside the hospital where she worked. Deja Coleman was booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center following the incident in Lawrenceville, Georgia — about 30 miles east of Atlanta.
How the Morning Unfolded
On Wednesday morning, Coleman arrived at Northside Hospital Gwinnett at around 6:55 a.m. As part of her usual routine, she had first dropped off her two older children at daycare — planning to return to her car and bring the baby inside afterward. That second trip never happened.
She went straight into work, leaving her infant son locked in the vehicle in the hospital parking lot.
Baby Found Hours Later
Nearly nine hours later, at around 3:50 p.m., a bystander spotted the child in the back seat and called 911. Officers arrived within three minutes, broke a window, and removed the baby — but he was already deceased.
When police checked the vehicle’s registration, it led them directly to Coleman inside the hospital. She was informed of what had happened, brought in for questioning, and subsequently arrested.
117 Degrees Inside the Car
Roughly an hour after the baby was removed, investigators recorded the temperature inside the vehicle at 117 degrees Fahrenheit — even with a window still missing from when officers had broken it open.
Where the Case Stands
Coleman faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children. Her two older children are in the custody of their father. Lawrenceville Police Captain Dena Pauly confirmed Coleman told investigators she simply forgot.