New details emerge as Gwinnett mom gets bond in hot-car death
State reveals detailed timeline before toddler hot car death
A Gwinnett County judge granted a $5,000 bond for a mother charged with second-degree murder after her toddler died in a hot car.
GWINNETT COIUNTY, Ga. - A Gwinnett County mother charged with second-degree murder in the hot-car death of her 16-month-old son was granted a $5,000 bond Wednesday after a hearing that revealed new details about the hours leading up to the child's death.
ORIGINAL STORY: Gwinnett mother charged after boy dies in hot car
What we know:
Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins ruled that 29-year-old Deja Coleman could be released under strict conditions, including house arrest and electronic monitoring.
Coleman is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children in the death of her son, Daniel.
Prosecutors opposed her release, but Adkins said she did not find Coleman to be a flight risk, a significant danger to the community or a risk to reoffend.
Prosecutors reveal new details about day of child's death
What they're saying:
During the bond hearing, prosecutors provided a more detailed timeline of what they say happened before Daniel was discovered inside Coleman's vehicle.
The state said Coleman's normal routine was to take all three of her children to Starlight Learning Academy before driving about a mile to her job at Northside Hospital Gwinnett.
On the morning of the child's death, prosecutors said Coleman arrived at the daycare around 6:30 a.m. Her two older children, ages 4 and 6, got out of the car and went inside with her while Daniel remained strapped into a car seat behind the front passenger seat.
Prosecutors said Coleman was on a FaceTime call when she entered the daycare and surveillance video shows she remained inside for at least five minutes. She put away her children's backpacks and lunches and spoke with a cafeteria worker about one child's breakfast.
At one point, according to prosecutors, a daycare worker asked Coleman, "Where's Daniel?"
Coleman allegedly responded, "He'll be in in a minute."
Daniel was never brought inside.
Prosecutors also said Coleman used the daycare's app to check in all three of her children even though only the two older children had been dropped off.
Daniel found about eight hours later
After leaving the daycare, prosecutors said Coleman drove to Northside Hospital Gwinnett, backed into an employee parking space and went to work around 7 a.m.
The state said Coleman was still on the phone when she arrived at the hospital and ended the call as she went inside.
Daniel remained inside the vehicle for about eight hours before one of Coleman's co-workers saw him unresponsive in the back seat and called 911.
Emergency crews broke a window to get inside, but Daniel was dead.
Prosecutors said Daniel was wearing sweatpants and was covered with a blanket. By the time the vehicle's temperature was measured, its doors had been open and a window had been broken for at least 30 minutes. The temperature still registered at 117 degrees.
Prosecutors said paramedics estimated the temperature inside the vehicle had previously exceeded 130 degrees.
Prosecutors point to alleged reminders about Daniel
What they're saying:
The state argued Coleman had several reminders that Daniel had not been dropped off.
In addition to the daycare worker asking about him, prosecutors said a full bottle of milk with Daniel's name on it was near the vehicle's gear shift. Investigators contend the bottle was intended to be left at the daycare.
Prosecutors also said the lock screen on Coleman's phone displayed a photograph of all three of her children and that Coleman used her phone multiple times throughout her workday. The state said she also communicated with the daycare about one of her older children during her shift.
Prosecutors made clear during the hearing that they are not accusing Coleman of intentionally killing Daniel.
"The evidence is not that this was an intentional killing," the prosecutor told the judge.
The state contends instead that Coleman's alleged recklessness and negligence caused her son's death.
RAW: Bond hearing for Deja Coleman
The Gwinnett County mother, Deja Coleman, appeared in a Gwinnett County courtroom this morning for a bond hearing related to the death of her child in a hot car. Bond was granted by the judge.
Defense says Coleman has strong community support
The other side:
Coleman's attorneys argued that her son's death was a tragic "accident" and that she should not remain incarcerated while the criminal case moves forward.
Her attorney previously described the case by saying, "A dead child in a car with a wailing mother in the parking lot is not murder."
During Wednesday's hearing, the defense told the judge that Coleman has significant support from her family and community.
Her attorneys said Rainbow Village is willing to allow Coleman to return to her residence there. They also told the court that the Special Needs School of Gwinnett and Rainbow Village were working to help enroll Coleman's oldest child in the school and that an anonymous donor had offered to pay for the child's education.
The defense described Coleman as a devoted mother and argued she did not pose a danger, flight risk or threat to witnesses.
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Prosecutor raises Coleman's communications with men
During the bond hearing, prosecutors also focused on Coleman's cellphone use and communications with men, arguing they were relevant to the state's contention that she was distracted on the day Daniel died.
The prosecutor said phone records would show Coleman communicated with at least five men that day, including her husband and four other men. The state argued that each time Coleman unlocked her phone, she would have seen a photograph of her three children, including Daniel, on her lock screen.
The prosecutor then attempted to introduce details about Coleman's communications from jail, saying she continued talking with several men after her arrest, including another man prosecutors described as a possible boyfriend. The prosecutor alleged some of those communications were sexual and included phone sex and discussions about "rough sex."
Coleman's attorneys immediately objected, saying they disputed the allegations and questioning how her sexual conversations from jail were relevant to whether she should receive bond.
The prosecutor argued the communications were relevant because the state contends Coleman was distracted on the day Daniel died and remained distracted after her arrest.
Judge Tamela Adkins questioned that argument directly, asking the prosecutor, "How is it relevant that she's speaking to men in a sexual manner from the jail to this bond hearing?"
After hearing the state's explanation, Adkins sustained the defense's objection, preventing the prosecutor from pursuing that line of argument further.
State asks judge to deny bond
Prosecutors argued Coleman should remain jailed, contending she posed a flight risk and could potentially interfere with witnesses.
The state pointed to Coleman's family and other contacts outside Georgia and argued that some of the potential witnesses are people close to her, including her surviving children, daycare employees and former co-workers.
Prosecutors also alleged that jail calls showed Coleman had discouraged the children's caregivers from allowing her 4-year-old to undergo a forensic interview. The defense challenged that characterization and said Coleman's current attorneys had only recently taken over the case.
Judge rejects state's arguments against bond
What the judge said:
Adkins ultimately found the state had not shown Coleman should remain jailed under the factors the court must consider when deciding bond.
The judge noted Coleman has lived in the United States since she was about 10 years old, graduated from Mountain View High School in Gwinnett County and has been working since she was 19.
"I do not find that you are at risk of flight," Adkins told Coleman.
The judge also said she did not consider Coleman a significant danger to the community or a risk to reoffend.
Adkins also rejected the state's argument that Coleman posed a significant risk of intimidating witnesses.
"I do not believe what I've heard today rises to a level of ... any actions that could be attributed to intimidating witnesses," Adkins said before granting the $5,000 bond.
House arrest, ankle monitor ordered
What's next:
Coleman's release comes with several restrictions.
She must wear an ankle monitor and remain on house arrest. The judge said she can leave for appointments with her attorneys, her own medical appointments and required therapeutic programs through Rainbow Village.
Coleman is also prohibited from discussing the criminal case with potential witnesses.
Adkins did not prohibit Coleman from having contact with her two surviving children.
The judge did, however, specifically order Coleman not to drive the children. She can ride in the same vehicle with them if another adult with a valid driver's license and insurance is behind the wheel.
Coleman's criminal case remains pending in Gwinnett County Superior Court.