DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A mother accused of killing her baby by leaving her alone in a car during a hair appointment is expected to plead guilty Wednesday.
Dijanelle Fowler was charged with second-degree murder last summer after her daughter, Skylar, was found dead in June 2016. Police say Fowler was at a 6-hour hair appointment in Tucker while her baby was in a car that reached a temperature of 129 degrees, prosecutors say.
Fowler is expected to plead guilty Wednesday, though the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office has not yet specified what charges are a part of the agreement.
Police say Fowler covered Skylar with clothes while she asked for help restarting the car after the battery died while it was left running with the air conditioning on. She then drove to Emory University Hospital and called 911. Police found Skylar dead and her mother unresponsive.
TRENDING STORIES:
Skylar's father, Louis Williams, was deployed overseas while serving in the Air Force when his daughter died.
"The peace I get is maybe God took her while she was sleeping," Williams said, "so she felt no pain."
Williams and Skylar's mother broke up shortly after she was born. He says Fowler has shown no remorse since their daughter's death.
"It's going to be tough to live with," he said, "if she continues to lie about it."
Williams says a prosecutor told him to expect Fowler to receive a 13-year prison sentence with 7 years of parole. The Air Force reservist says that is a punishment that he cannot accept.
"I think that's ridiculous," he said. "I think it sends a terrible message."