Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

Loving mother or child killer? Conflicting accounts emerge in latest hot car death

<p>Police have charged the boy&#39;s mother, Lillian Stone, 25, with one count of felony cruelty to children.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lillian Stone&nbsp;</p> <p>Police have charged the boy&#39;s mother, Lillian Stone, with one count of felony cruelty to children.</p> <p>The boy was found about 3:30 p.m. along Smoke Ridge Drive in College Park, Fulton County police said.</p>

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office � 2017 Cox Media Group. � 2017 Cox Media Group.

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office � 2017 Cox Media Group. � 2017 Cox Media Group.

<p>Police have charged the boy&#39;s mother, Lillian Stone, 25, with one count of felony cruelty to children.&nbsp;</p> <p>Lillian Stone&nbsp;</p> <p>Police have charged the boy&#39;s mother, Lillian Stone, with one count of felony cruelty to children.</p> <p>The boy was found about 3:30 p.m. along Smoke Ridge Drive in College Park, Fulton County police said.</p>
By Christian Boone
Nov 9, 2017

To those who know her, Lillian Stone is a devoted mother who has always gone the extra mile for her two sons.

But after her youngest child, 3-year-old Melvin, died Saturday after being left strapped inside his car seat for more than three hours earlier last week, a different portrait has emerged.

Fulton County police say they have evidence contradicting Stone's contention that her son's death was a horrible accident, charging the 25-year-old South Fulton woman with murder. Specifics are likely to emerge at Stone's court hearing next Wednesday.

So what do the police know? And how does that reconcile with accounts from the people who know Stone best?  Visit myajc.com for that and more on this tragic case.

About the Author

A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.

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