JENNINGS, La. — UPDATE: Jennings Police report that Hannah Faith Cormier, 32, has been booked into the Jeff Davis Parish jail with cruelty to juveniles and second-degree murder.
Cormier is the mother of the 10-month-old baby who died last Tue., Aug. 13, after being left in a hot car, police confirm.
In a press conference Monday morning, Chief Danny Semmes told KATC that "some underlying factors" were discovered during the investigation that led to Cormier being charged with second-degree murder, and not negligent homicide.
"[These factors] indicated to us that she knew the baby was in the car—it wasn't an accident," he said. "That is the reason she's being charged with second-degree murder, instead of negligent homicide."
Cormier clocked in to Wendy's for a two-hour, fill-in manager shift last Tuesday, when she left her 10-month-old in the backseat of her vehicle. Police say a thermometer was used to detect the internal temperature of the vehicle; it was estimated to be between 140-150 degrees.
According to police, Cormier drove the baby straight to Ochsner General Hospital after discovering the child was in the car. The baby arrived unresponsive with a 109 degree fever, and passed away later that evening around 11:00 p.m., police said.
After conducting a thorough investigation, Jennings police found reason to interview Cormier a second time, which ultimately led to her arrest.
Here's the original story:
Police report that the 10-month-old child was left in a hot car for about 90 minutes while the child's mother worked at Wendy's. The child's mother told police she had been called in to work and inadvertently left the child in the car.
Police were called to a Jennings hospital after the child was brought there without a pulse. As of Tuesday, the child was listed in critical condition, but police confirmed that the baby had died around 11 p.m Wednesday.
Chief Danny Semmes said he's partnering with the District Attorney and Department of Child and Family Services for the investigation.
"It's a tragic situation, my heart goes out to the baby and the family," Semmes said. "What people can take from this is: It just takes a second to look in the back seat. You got into the habit of putting on your seat belt, get into the habit of looking in the back seat to see if your kids are back there. We've all learned the habit of making sure we have our cell phone, we can make sure our children aren't in the car. That's top priority."
According to the United States Department of Transportation, there have been more than 975 children who died in hot cars since 1998.
The Chief said parents and guardians have to take precautions.
"A toddler can get in the car without you knowing about it," Semmes said. "You just want to make sure that you clear your vehicle."
The U.S. DOT also announced there's a higher number of hot car deaths at the end of the work week, citing more than half of the victims are under the age of two.
According to authorities, the investigation is ongoing and no one has been charged in the baby's death.
