Mother Granted Bail for Child Death Case Despite Prosecutor Opposition

A nurse and mother stood before a judge with one desperate plea: let her go so she can look after her other kids. The request came from Deja Coleman, 29, who faces charges for leaving her teething toddler to die inside a sweltering vehicle while she worked. On Wednesday, Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Tamela Adkins approved a $5,000 bond. Coleman must stay on house arrest and wear an ankle monitor. The court granted this request even though prosecutors fought hard against it.

Coleman pleaded not guilty to the death of her 16-month-old son, Daniel. He passed away after being left in the car for at least seven hours on July 29. An employee at Northside Hospital found him dead in the backseat. Coleman worked there as a certified nursing assistant. Prosecutors claimed she was reminded about the missing child right then and there. Megan Mateucci, the prosecutor handling the case, told the court that Coleman walked into daycare with her four-year-old daughter and nonverbal six-year-old son who has special needs. The toddler was not inside the facility. A worker asked where the baby was while lunchboxes were being put away. Coleman allegedly said she would bring him in just a minute. Investigators say she never did. Instead, she drove to work.

Mateucci told the court that the evidence does not show an intentional killing. Yet the scene was grim. An employee heading to their own car discovered Daniel after roughly eight hours had passed. The toddler wore sweatpants and was covered by a blanket. The temperature inside the vehicle hit 117 degrees once doors opened thirty minutes prior. Paramedics estimated heat levels climbed to around 130 degrees before emergency crews arrived. Coleman was reportedly on FaceTime while dropping off her children and driving to her shift. She faces serious consequences for that seven-hour gap in care. Her older children needed a mother now, not one in custody without supervision.

Prosecutors made their case clear this week. The evidence points to negligence. Recklessness led to the death of a child. As they argued against Coleman's release, her mother shook her head in denial. Paramedics arrived at a scene where heat was already lethal. They estimated the car temperature hit around 130 degrees before emergency crews could act.

Coleman worked as a certified nursing assistant at Northside Hospital. She denies charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children. Her defense attorney, Trinity Hundredmark, pushed back against the accusations. He called it a tragic accident that happened when his client lacked some support.

"She was a domestic violence survivor who left an abusive relationship to protect her children," Hundredmark said at the hearing this week. "So, Judge, if anything, all signs point to Ms Coleman as a protector of her children and not a harm to her children." He added that unfortunately, this tragedy happened, but it was not violent and it was not intentional.

The judge did not prohibit her from seeing her two children, but ruled that the mother is not allowed to drive them. Instead, Coleman was granted an allowance to ride in a vehicle with her children with a licensed and insured adult driving. Adkins said she didn't believe Coleman to be a flight risk or a risk to the community.

Twrnia Hardy, who wrote on Facebook as Coleman's 'Aunt', told the public about her struggles. She noted that Coleman suffered through homelessness, abuse, and many other battles. "Yet she still remain strong, not complaining but enduring through it all," Hardy wrote. "She was in a homeless shelter/safe house to placing the kids in a safe place until she obtained work."

Coleman was previously granted temporary release and allowed to attend her baby's funeral service at Hollifield Mortuary Chapel in Atlanta in August. Hardy emphasized that she loved her children and didn't trust or leave them with just anyone. "In fact, she remained at the shelter until she found a stable place for them, then she went to work," Hardy stated.

The emotional toll remains high. "Daniel has passed, Dinero and Dakota seriously need their Mom, she is all they have," Hardy wrote. "Their little smiles have been taunted by sadness." She insisted that we all make mistakes and this was truly one of them. Her plea was to stand behind her and rally for her. Coleman is hurting so much right now because of what happened. You all don't know her and this is why I'm trying to tell her story the best way I can.