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A Georgia mother facing serious criminal charges in connection with the death of her 1-year-old son has been granted permission to take her other children trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Deja Coleman, who is accused of leaving her baby, Daniel, inside a hot car while she worked at a hospital, will be allowed to go door to door with her children at Rainbow Village in Gwinnett County.
The residential community serves families experiencing homelessness, and Coleman is currently living there under house arrest.
A judge approved the Halloween outing on Thursday, October 29, according to WSB-TV Atlanta.
There are, however, some important restrictions. Coleman is being monitored by GPS and cannot leave the Rainbow Village property. So while she can participate in the holiday with her other children, the outing must remain within the complex.
Coleman has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children in connection with Daniel’s death.
Investigators say she brought her older children to daycare but failed to bring the baby inside before heading to work.
According to police, Coleman then drove to the hospital, parked her vehicle and began her shift at approximately 7 a.m. She allegedly did not realize Daniel was still in his car seat.
The child was not discovered until around 3:50 p.m., when a hospital employee noticed him unresponsive inside the vehicle.
Off-duty officers at the hospital reportedly broke a window to reach the child and remove him from the car. Daniel was already dead.
The conditions inside the vehicle were especially alarming. Investigators said the temperature inside the car had reached 117 degrees, and it reportedly remained that hot even an hour after the child was found.
Law enforcement officials have offered some insight into Coleman’s state of mind following the tragedy.
Captain Dena Pauly told WSB-TV that Coleman was “devastated” when she learned what had happened. Detectives believe she was overwhelmed at the time, rather than distracted.
That detail does not change the charges Coleman is facing, and the allegations have not been adjudicated in court.
But the judge’s decision means she will be able to spend Halloween with her other children while remaining under the restrictions of her house arrest.
The ruling concerns only Coleman’s permitted movements while awaiting the resolution of her criminal case. She will remain subject to GPS monitoring and the restriction preventing her from leaving the residential complex.
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