DeKalb mom who left baby in hot car for 5 hours to serve 20 years in prison
A DeKalb County mother claimed she took her 13-month-old daughter inside while she cleaned a home.
Instead, Ariel Jamiyla Osbey left the baby inside her car for five hours and never checked on her, according to investigators, who reviewed surveillance cameras.
When little Imani was taken to a Newton County hospital Oct. 10, 2023, her temperature was 107 degrees, and she soon died from hyperthermia.
Late last week, Osbey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and making a false statement, according to Alcovy Judicial District Attorney Randy McGinley. She was then sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by an additional 15 years on probation, McGinley said.
Osbey, 31, has been in the Newton jail since two days after her baby’s death, booking records show.
“Any death of a child is heartbreaking,” McGinley said in an emailed statement. “Imani’s death was not only preventable, but also criminal. The defendant chose to leave her 13-month-old child in a hot car for hours. Sadly, a short internet search will show that this still occurs far too often. I hope this case will serve as a reminder to anyone reading this to never let this happen.”
According to Kids and Car Safety, at least 1,160 children have died in hot cars in the United States since 1990. Just this year, 30 children have died after being left in hot cars, the safety group’s website states. A majority of those cases involve children unintentionally left behind, according to the group’s data.
In a high-profile case that made national headlines in June 2014, Cobb County father Justin Ross Harris left his 22-month-old son, Cooper, in his SUV while he went to work.
Ross Harris, now 44, was convicted of murder, but the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the decision, ruling he did not receive a fair trial because testimony detailing extramarital relationships should not have been allowed. Harris served time for attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and was released from custody in June.
In the Newton case, Osbey left her Clarkston home and arrived at the one she was hired to cleaned at around 10 a.m. in October 2023. She then left after finishing her work around 3:24 p.m., according to investigators. Osbey said she next drove to a cemetery to wait for traffic to clear, her warrant states.
That’s when she noticed Imani was not responsive or breathing and Osbey called 911, investigators said. The mother claimed the baby had been sick.
“While on scene, deputies noted that the inside of the defendant’s vehicle was extremely hot with hot air blowing from the vents,” McGinley said. “Investigators located Imani’s zip-up hoodie on the floorboard of the vehicle and noted that it was very damp when touched.”
At the hospital, Osbey claimed the baby had been inside the home with her, but surveillance footage showed the child had been left in the car, investigators said.
Osbey was indicted in December 2023, but the court proceedings were delayed while she underwent mental health evaluations, the district attorney said.
When Osbey is released from custody, she will not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16 and must get mental health treatment, according to terms of her sentence.
