A 29-year-old mother faces criminal charges after her 1-year-old son was found dead inside a locked vehicle in the employee parking lot of Northside Gwinnett Hospital on Wednesday.
Officers with the Lawrenceville Police Department responded to the hospital, located at 1000 Medical Center Boulevard, around 3:50 p.m. on July 29, 2026, after receiving a report from a hospital employee regarding an unresponsive child.
Upon arrival, officers located the vehicle, removed the boy from his car seat, and attempted life-saving measures. The child was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Authorities arrested the child’s mother, Deja Coleman, 29, and charged her with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children. She was subsequently transported and booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
During a press conference, Lawrenceville Police Captain Dena Pauly stated that Coleman told investigators she arrived at work at 6:55 a.m., leaving the child inside the vehicle for nine hours. Coleman told investigators that she dropped off her two other children at daycare that morning but forgot to bring her youngest child inside.
According to Pauly, officers measured the interior temperature of the vehicle at 117 degrees one hour after the child had been removed.
Pauly noted during the press conference that Coleman was “devastated” upon learning of her son’s death. The investigation remains ongoing.
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