GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County mother, charged in the death of her 1-year-old son, faced a judge on Tuesday afternoon.
She’s accused of leaving the baby in a hot car for nine hours.
Her attorney wants the charges dropped and is pushing the DA to at least call for a lesser charge, saying the incident was unintentional and that she was sleep-deprived.
She also asked to be released from jail to attend her child’s funeral.
Tuesday’s preliminary hearing is where prosecutors will lay out their case against Deja Coleman.
The 29-year-old mother is charged with second-degree murder in the hot car death of her son, whom the family calls Carter.
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Police say the 1-year-old was left in the back of Coleman’s car for nine hours as she worked a shift as a nursing assistant at the hospital.
Tom Ford, her defense attorney, said she cared for two other older children and was up all night as the baby was teething and severely lacking sleep.
“There’s not any other reason other than being tired. We don’t lock people up because they’re tired,” Ford said.
Watch news post-hearing news conference:
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