Child Abuse

A single mother was driving her three young children to a doctor's appointment. It was a rainy day and temperatures did not get out of the 70s. While taking care of a few errands, she stopped to pick up her cell phone that was being repaired. She parked in front of the front door. Because it was raining, and believing that it would only take a moment or two, she left the three children, ages six, three and 13 days old in the vehicle. It took longer than expected. Approximately 27 minutes. During that time, the six-year-old removed the 13-day-old from her car seat and was responsible for killing her. The actions of the six-year-old were neither expected nor anticipated. Following a police investigation, the mother was charged with aggravated child abuse manslaughter which carried up to 30 years in prison. After presenting extensive mitigation concerning not only the incident but the client, the state ultimately agreed that although it amounted to negligence, it did not rise to manslaughter. The charge was amended to leaving a child unattended in a vehicle resulting in harm to another and the client was left with no criminal record and given a probationary sentence.

A single mother was driving her three young children to a doctor's appointment. It was a rainy day and temperatures did not get out of the 70s. While taking care of a few errands, she stopped to pick up her cell phone that was being repaired. She parked in front of the front door. Because it was raining, and believing that it would only take a moment or two, she left the three children, ages six, three and 13 days old in the vehicle. It took longer than expected. Approximately 27 minutes. During that time, the six-year-old removed the 13-day-old from her car seat and was responsible for killing her. The actions of the six-year-old were neither expected nor anticipated. Following a police investigation, the mother was charged with aggravated child abuse manslaughter which carried up to 30 years in prison. After presenting extensive mitigation concerning not only the incident but the client, the state ultimately agreed that although it amounted to negligence, it did not rise to manslaughter. The charge was amended to leaving a child unattended in a vehicle resulting in harm to another and the client was left with no criminal record and given a probationary sentence.