A 14-month-old girl died this week after being left in a hot car for more than five hours while her mother cleaned a home, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, the baby’s mother was being held without bond after her arrest on charges including second-degree murder and making false statements. Ariel Osbey, 29, of Clarkston, allegedly left her daughter, Imani, in a car alone Tuesday while she cleaned a home near Covington, her arrest warrants state.
Investigators believe the cause of death was heat exhaustion.
“Ms. Osbey is seen on camera entering the home, without Imani,” her arrest warrant states. “The homeowners never saw a baby and had no idea the child was in the car.”
Osbey arrived at the home around 10 a.m. and left at 3:24 p.m., according to investigators. But she allegedly told investigators she hadn’t been in the home very long. After finishing her work, Osbey said she drove to a cemetery to wait for traffic to clear, her warrant states.
“Ms. Osbey also said she was hot in the car and she was sweating but was fine so she thought Imani was fine too (windows were up),” according to the warrant. “Ms. Osbey stated that she did not know how to turn the AC on in the rental car.”
Deputies were called to an area of Ga. 162 and Rocky Plains Road after receiving calls about someone in cardiac arrest, the sheriff’s office incident report states. Emergency responders provided medical aid to the baby, who was taken to the hospital but did not survive.
According to the Kids and Car Safety organization, the death is the 28th this year attributed to a child being left behind in a hot vehicle. It was the first of the year reported in Georgia.
In 2022, 36 children died across the U.S. after being left in vehicles, according to the organization. The deaths happen even when outdoor temperatures have dropped, such as this week across metro Atlanta.
“Children have died from heatstroke in cars when outside temperatures were as low as 60 degrees,” the Kids and Car Safety website states.
In 2014, Georgia’s second-degree murder charge went into effect, specifically created to address hot car deaths.
On June 18, 2014, Justin Ross Harris left his 22-month-old son Cooper in his hot SUV for hours while he worked. He was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The murder conviction was later overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court, which ruled Harris did not receive a fair trial because days of testimony detailing his extramarital relationships should not have been allowed.
Harris still stands convicted of exchanging graphic text messages with an underage girl, for which he was sentenced to 12 years. He has been in custody since 2014.
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