Cops: As Mom Spent 6 Hours Getting Hair Done, Baby Died

DeKalb police say hot-car death wasn't intentional
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2017 10:40 AM CDT
Cops: As Mom Spent 6 Hours Getting Hair Done, Baby Died
A memorial at the site of another hot-car death, this one in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Sunday, July 9, 2017.   (Robin Rudd/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

Two cases of youngsters losing their lives in hot cars are making headlines this week. Skylar Fowler, 1, became the first child to die in a hot car in Georgia this year in a June 15 incident that's emerging following mother Dijanelle Fowler's Monday arrest. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports she is charged with second-degree murder, child cruelty, and concealing the death of her daughter, whom cops say was left in Fowler's car for six hours while she got her hair done. DeKalb County police believe the death was accidental; the 25-year-old left the car running with air conditioning on, but at some point between her 10am appointment and 4pm return to the car, the car died. WXIA reports video and witness statements indicate Fowler didn't leave the salon at any point during that six-hour period.

Reuters quotes a police rep who says Fowler hid the baby in some manner and called roadside assistance for help in restarting her car; other reports suggest someone from the salon helped her jump her battery. Fowler then drove to Emory University Hospital, where she parked, called 911, and said she herself was suffering from some kind of seizure. Skylar was found by the responding team. The Knoxville News Sentinel has a more vague report of a child found dead around 2pm Friday in Gatlinburg, Tenn., following a report of a child being left in a car overnight. A neighbor confirmed the home address, and a search of records revealed it belongs to Jerry Kirkman, mayor of Westmoreland, Tenn. But the Gatlinburg Police Department has not yet confirmed that or released any details about the child's age, identity, or the circumstances. (More child dies in hot car stories.)

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