Topline: A Georgia mother charged with murder after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is asking to be released in time for the child’s funeral this weekend.
Published: August 14, 2026 4:04 pm ET
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Daniel Coleman, left, and Deja Coleman
GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — A Gwinnett County mother jailed on a murder charge after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is trying to get out of jail in time for his funeral this weekend after a judge declined to consider bond at a hearing Tuesday.
According to WSB-TV, 29-year-old Deja Coleman has been held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail since her July 29 arrest. Arrest warrants charge her with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children and say she left her son, Daniel Coleman, in a locked vehicle for hours while she worked a shift at a Lawrenceville hospital.
Coleman was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday, but defense attorney Tom Ford instead asked prosecutors to drop the murder count temporarily so a judge could set bond and allow her to attend the boy’s Saturday funeral. Ford offered to let the state seek a new indictment days later, but Assistant District Attorney Megan Matteucci objected and said prosecutors were prepared to move forward on the warrants already taken by police.
The magistrate judge said she did not have the authority to consider bond in a murder case, and Ford waived the hearing, sending the case to Gwinnett County Superior Court. Ford later said prosecutors had only told him they might allow Coleman to attend the funeral while in custody, and no bond hearing had been scheduled.
A bond motion filed Monday describes Coleman as a domestic violence survivor living in transitional housing in Gwinnett County, working as a certified nursing assistant and raising a 6-year-old child with nonverbal autism and a 4-year-old on her own. The motion says she had been running on almost no sleep and was on a phone call her husband required every morning as she dropped the older children at daycare and continued to her hospital shift.
Ford argued outside the jail that the child’s death was a tragic mistake, not a murder. He was joined by a University of South Florida neuroscience professor who studies memory and the executive director of Kids and Car Safety, who said the group has counted 1,189 hot car deaths nationwide since 1990 and 22 similar Georgia cases, with about half ending without a conviction.
The advocacy group also pointed to a 2021 federal law requiring action on child detection technology in vehicles, saying the resulting safety standard is nearly three years overdue. Another mother who lost her daughter to heatstroke in a car said that kind of technology could have saved her child.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Gwinnett Mom Seeks Bond Before 1-Year-Old Son’s Funeral in Hot Car Death Case
A Georgia mother charged with murder after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is asking to be released in time for the child’s funeral this weekend.
By Silvia Torres
Published: August 14, 2026 4:04 pm ET
Daniel Coleman, left, and Deja Coleman
GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — A Gwinnett County mother jailed on a murder charge after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is trying to get out of jail in time for his funeral this weekend after a judge declined to consider bond at a hearing Tuesday.
According to WSB-TV, 29-year-old Deja Coleman has been held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail since her July 29 arrest. Arrest warrants charge her with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children and say she left her son, Daniel Coleman, in a locked vehicle for hours while she worked a shift at a Lawrenceville hospital.
Coleman was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday, but defense attorney Tom Ford instead asked prosecutors to drop the murder count temporarily so a judge could set bond and allow her to attend the boy’s Saturday funeral. Ford offered to let the state seek a new indictment days later, but Assistant District Attorney Megan Matteucci objected and said prosecutors were prepared to move forward on the warrants already taken by police.
The magistrate judge said she did not have the authority to consider bond in a murder case, and Ford waived the hearing, sending the case to Gwinnett County Superior Court. Ford later said prosecutors had only told him they might allow Coleman to attend the funeral while in custody, and no bond hearing had been scheduled.
A bond motion filed Monday describes Coleman as a domestic violence survivor living in transitional housing in Gwinnett County, working as a certified nursing assistant and raising a 6-year-old child with nonverbal autism and a 4-year-old on her own. The motion says she had been running on almost no sleep and was on a phone call her husband required every morning as she dropped the older children at daycare and continued to her hospital shift.
Ford argued outside the jail that the child’s death was a tragic mistake, not a murder. He was joined by a University of South Florida neuroscience professor who studies memory and the executive director of Kids and Car Safety, who said the group has counted 1,189 hot car deaths nationwide since 1990 and 22 similar Georgia cases, with about half ending without a conviction.
The advocacy group also pointed to a 2021 federal law requiring action on child detection technology in vehicles, saying the resulting safety standard is nearly three years overdue. Another mother who lost her daughter to heatstroke in a car said that kind of technology could have saved her child.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Gwinnett Mom Seeks Bond Before 1-Year-Old Son’s Funeral in Hot Car Death Case
A Georgia mother charged with murder after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is asking to be released in time for the child’s funeral this weekend.
By Silvia Torres
Published: August 14, 2026 4:04 pm ET
Daniel Coleman, left, and Deja Coleman
GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — A Gwinnett County mother jailed on a murder charge after her 1-year-old son died in a locked car is trying to get out of jail in time for his funeral this weekend after a judge declined to consider bond at a hearing Tuesday.
According to WSB-TV, 29-year-old Deja Coleman has been held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail since her July 29 arrest. Arrest warrants charge her with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children and say she left her son, Daniel Coleman, in a locked vehicle for hours while she worked a shift at a Lawrenceville hospital.
Coleman was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday, but defense attorney Tom Ford instead asked prosecutors to drop the murder count temporarily so a judge could set bond and allow her to attend the boy’s Saturday funeral. Ford offered to let the state seek a new indictment days later, but Assistant District Attorney Megan Matteucci objected and said prosecutors were prepared to move forward on the warrants already taken by police.
The magistrate judge said she did not have the authority to consider bond in a murder case, and Ford waived the hearing, sending the case to Gwinnett County Superior Court. Ford later said prosecutors had only told him they might allow Coleman to attend the funeral while in custody, and no bond hearing had been scheduled.
A bond motion filed Monday describes Coleman as a domestic violence survivor living in transitional housing in Gwinnett County, working as a certified nursing assistant and raising a 6-year-old child with nonverbal autism and a 4-year-old on her own. The motion says she had been running on almost no sleep and was on a phone call her husband required every morning as she dropped the older children at daycare and continued to her hospital shift.
Ford argued outside the jail that the child’s death was a tragic mistake, not a murder. He was joined by a University of South Florida neuroscience professor who studies memory and the executive director of Kids and Car Safety, who said the group has counted 1,189 hot car deaths nationwide since 1990 and 22 similar Georgia cases, with about half ending without a conviction.
The advocacy group also pointed to a 2021 federal law requiring action on child detection technology in vehicles, saying the resulting safety standard is nearly three years overdue. Another mother who lost her daughter to heatstroke in a car said that kind of technology could have saved her child.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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