Police said the 1-year-old remained inside a hospital parking lot for about nine hours after a missed daycare drop-off.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia mother was denied bond after police accused her of leaving her 1-year-old son inside a locked car for about nine hours while she worked at a Gwinnett County hospital.
Deja Coleman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children in the July 29 death of her son, Daniel Coleman. Police said she dropped off her two older children at daycare that morning but did not take the baby inside. Coleman told investigators that she forgot he remained in the back seat before she drove to Northside Hospital Gwinnett and began her workday.
Lawrenceville police were called to an employee parking lot across from the hospital’s emergency department at about 3:50 p.m. after another employee saw the child unresponsive in his car seat. Officers arrived within minutes, broke a vehicle window and attempted lifesaving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police spokesperson Capt. Dena Pauly said Coleman arrived at the hospital shortly before 7 a.m. Surveillance footage showed her entering the building and remaining at work until authorities located her after discovering the child. Investigators estimated that Daniel had been inside the vehicle for nearly nine hours.
Pauly said officers measured the temperature inside the car about an hour after the child was removed. The reading was 117 degrees. Authorities had not released a final cause of death, and the medical examiner’s findings were not immediately available. Police said the circumstances supported the two felony charges filed against Coleman.
Investigators said Coleman’s usual morning routine involved taking all three children to daycare. She would first escort her 6-year-old and 4-year-old children into the facility, then return to the vehicle for Daniel. One of the older children has special medical needs, police said. Coleman told investigators that she forgot to make the second trip to retrieve the baby that morning.
Police said Coleman then drove to the hospital, parked in an employee lot and began her shift. Daniel was asleep in the back seat, according to her attorney, Tom Ford. No evidence had been released suggesting that Coleman intentionally left the child in the vehicle.
Pauly said Coleman was devastated when officers told her that her son had died. Police arrested her at the hospital and booked her into the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Her other two children were placed in their father’s custody, authorities said.
During Coleman’s first court appearance July 31, a judge denied bond on the felony charges. Ford described the death as a tragic mistake and said Coleman had been exhausted while caring for three children and working long hospital shifts. He said Daniel had been teething and Coleman had been losing sleep in the days before his death.
Ford said he plans to ask the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office to consider reducing the charges. District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson declined to discuss the evidence while the case is pending. Coleman has not entered a plea, and the accusations against her have not been proven in court.
The legal distinction between an accidental act and criminal negligence is expected to become a central issue as prosecutors review the case. Georgia’s second-degree murder law can apply when a person causes a child’s death while committing second-degree cruelty to children, even when prosecutors do not allege an intent to kill.
Authorities identified Coleman as a hospital employee, while her attorney said she worked there as a nurse. Northside Hospital Gwinnett had not released a detailed public statement about her employment or the incident. The hospital’s parking lot remained open after investigators completed their work at the scene.
The child’s full autopsy and toxicology findings had not been released as of Monday. Coleman remained in custody pending further court proceedings, with another hearing scheduled for Aug. 11. Prosecutors had not announced whether the case would be presented to a grand jury or whether the charges would be changed.
Author note: Last updated August 3, 2026.