Baby dies after being left in hot car for hours when dad is arrested, Georgia cops say
A Georgia father faces a murder charge after authorities say he left his 8-month-old daughter in a hot car for hours.
Davied Japez McCorry Whatley, 20, of Grayson was charged with second-degree murder in his daughter’s death, Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials announced during a news conference at the Snellville Police Department on Wednesday, May 4.
Whatley had been arrested the day before when he arrived at police headquarters to pick up some personal property around 2:15 p.m., Snellville police Detective Jeff Manley told reporters. That’s when officers learned he was wanted on a probation violation and took him into custody.
At no point did Whatley say “that his daughter was left in the car two buildings away from the Snellville Police Department,” Manley said during the news conference, streamed by WAGA. He bonded out of jail later that night.
Nearly seven hours after Whatley arrived, the baby’s grandmother brought her to an emergency room where she was pronounced dead, police said. The grandmother advised doctors that the child, identified as Nova Grace Whatley-Trejo, had been left in a hot car after a traffic stop, police said.
Authorities disputed that claim, saying Whatley was “on video the entire time” from the moment he walked into police headquarters on May 3.
“There was no traffic stop, whatsoever,” Manley said. “That did not happen.”
Whatley’s 2007 Mazda 3 was later found parked near dumpsters in the Snellville City Hall parking lot, according to a police news release. Local weather reports show temperatures reached the mid 80s in Snellville on May 3, with a low of 59 degrees.
“I’m absolutely astounded that someone would leave an 8-month-old in the car, park away from our building to walk up here knowing that child was in the car,” Manley said. “I’m astounded.”
Whatley will be booked into the Gwinnett County Jail this afternoon, Lisa Vorrasi with the GBI told reporters.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Baby dies after being left in hot car for hours when dad is arrested, Georgia cops say."