An Arkansas daycare owner is facing a murder charge after police say she left a baby inside a hot vehicle for more than eight hours, leading to the child’s death.
Hope Jones, 62, has been charged with second-degree murder, the Little Rock Police Department announced. Authorities have not released the name of the infant.
Police were called Wednesday afternoon to 8212 Frenchman Lane in Little Rock after receiving a report of an “unresponsive infant.” Responding officers arrived at the building, which police identified as a daycare, and found the baby inside.
Police said the infant “succumbed to injuries” at the scene. According to a police report cited by KARK, the baby’s body temperature was 110 degrees.
Homicide detectives later spoke with Jones, who owns the daycare, according to police. She reportedly told investigators she picked the baby up from his foster mother at 6:20 a.m. that morning and drove him to the daycare.
Jones allegedly admitted that when she returned to work, she became distracted and left the baby inside a car seat in her pickup truck. She then reportedly took an incorrect headcount of the children and forgot about the infant for more than eight hours.
At the end of the workday, Jones went back to her vehicle and found the baby not moving in the car seat, according to the report. She then brought him inside the daycare and tried to save him.
Police arrested Jones, and she later appeared in Little Rock District Court. She posted a $15,000 bond, according to the report.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 9.
She was able to get out on bond with a murder charge against her? Unbelievable.