Dijanelle Fowler, 25 (pictured), turned herself into Dekalb County, Georgia police on July 17 and was charged with murder, child cruelty and concealing a death
A mother who left her one-year-old daughter to die in a hot car while she got her hair braided has been indicted for murder.
Dijanelle Fowler, 25, left her daughter in the sweltering vehicle in June when she went to a salon in Atlanta, Georgia, where temperatures in the car reached up to a staggering 150F.
Her daughter Skylar Fowler died after fending for herself for five hours and she has now been charged with second-degree murder, child cruelty and concealing a death after a grand jury sat at DeKalb County court.
Prosecutor Dalia Racine said the temperature in the car rose to 129 degrees while the heat index in the vehicle hit more than 150.
Meanwhile Fowler was in the salon and told the hairdresser, ‘No rush,’ and ‘Take your time,’ the court heard.
After realizing her baby was dead when she returned to the car, she attempted to hide what had happened, it has been claimed.
She lied repeatedly about the how her baby had come to die before eventually opening up about what had happened.
Fowler told police she had left the air conditioning running in the car but the battery had died.
Police say Fowler’s one-year-old baby daughter Skylar died after her mother left her in a hot car for six hours while she got her hair done (mother and daughter above)
Police believe Fowler meant to leave the air conditioning on for the girl, but the car died and she never went to check on her during the six-hour appointment (mother and daughter above)
This version of events is backed by police, although the prosecution say they have no evidence of this, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In a previous hearing, defense attorney Charles Brant said it was ‘clear’ the air conditioning had caused her battery to go flat.
As a result of this, she had to get help from a man at the salon to jump start her vehicle when she had finished up with her hair.
After returning to the car, Fowler didn’t call police but had a man in the salon jump start her car
Fowler drove to Emory University Hospital and called police at 4.54pm. It appears that she tried to fake a seizure when police arrived on the scene
She is accused of hiding Skylar’s body from him, which has led to the third charge on her rap sheet.
After getting her car running again, she drove to Emory University Hospital.
Fowler remains in custody after a bond for her release was denied.