Mother Charged With Murder After 1-Year-Old Found Dead in Vehicle at Northside Gwinnett Hospital

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – A 29-year-old woman has been charged after her 1-year-old son was found dead inside a locked vehicle in the employee parking lot of a Lawrenceville hospital Wednesday afternoon.

Officers with the Lawrenceville Police Department responded to Northside Gwinnett Hospital, located at 1000 Medical Center Blvd., at approximately 3:50 p.m. on July 29 after receiving a report of an unresponsive child inside a locked vehicle.

When officers arrived, they located the vehicle in the hospital’s employee parking lot and immediately attempted life-saving measures.

Police said the child, a 1-year-old boy, was found deceased in his car seat. The mother told investigators that she forgot her son in his car seat after dropping off her two older children at daycare on her way to work. She is employed at the Hospital.

Following an investigation, authorities arrested the child’s mother, identified as 29-year-old Deja Coleman.

Coleman was transported to the Gwinnett County Detention Center and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.

Investigators have not released additional details about the circumstances leading to the child’s death.

The investigation remains ongoing.