A North Georgia woman won’t go to prison after she left her grandson unattended in a heated car for several hours, leading to this death, according to a report.
Barbara Pemberton, 48, received a sentence of 10 years on probation after she pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in Walker County, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Pemberton left 1-year-old Shadoe Braxton Pate in a car seat with the heat on for five hours in January 2016, GBI investigators said.
The heat, combined with the sun’s rays, made the vehicle’s interior as hot as “a summer day,” the GBI said said shortly after Shadoe’s death.
The child’s temperature rose to 108 degrees, according to the GBI.
District Attorney Herbert Franklin gave two reasons for not seeking prison for Pemberton.
The child’s parents didn’t want the woman to be incarcerated, Franklin said. Also, Pemberton has sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disorder that can cause inflammation in the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes and skin.
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