A Clayton County day care operator and a staffer falsified records tied to the death of 2-year-old Jazmin Green, according to court documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Green died Monday after being left in a sweltering van outside Marlo’s Magnificent Early Learning Center in Jonesboro after a field trip. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at Divine Faith Ministries International, 9800 Tara Blvd., in Jonesboro at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The checklist certifying that all children had been removed from the van after the outing actually was filled out before the van arrived back at the center, according an affidavit filed in connection with the arrests of center administrator Marlo Fallings, 41, her 23-year-old daughter Quantabia Hopkins and a juvenile assistant.
“That’s stupidity. That’s taking shortcuts on their job,” Jazmin’s father, Charles Green, said Thursday night when informed of the affidavit’s contents.
In addition, the affidavit suggests that an hour or more elapsed between when the center personnel realized that Jazmin was missing and when they phoned 911.
Several attempts to reach Fallings Thursday were unsuccessful. She did not respond to voicemail messages seeking comment.
The women's defense attorney, Bruce Harvey, denied that Fallings and Hopkins falsified documents and tried to cover up the tragedy.
“There is a lot of discrepancy in the various reports,” he said. “It’s too early to know the details.”
He declined to comment on the possibility that the women waited more than an hour before alerting authorities.
"Maybe, maybe not,” said Harvey. “I’m confident that the ongoing investigation will show what did happen.”
However, Jazmin’s father was outraged by the apparent delay.
“My child could have been saved,” Charles Green said. “While my daughter is dying, you [center personnel] are trying to hide something. What are you doing for an hour?”
Fallings and Hopkins were arrested Tuesday on charges of cruelty to children, reckless conduct and involuntary manslaughter. They were released Wednesday on $35,000 bond.
Thursday evening, Jazmin’s parents were joined by about 50 people for a candlelight vigil outside the daycare center. A stuffed bear and a single pink rose were among the items people had left in a makeshift memorial.
Charles Green and Jazmin’s 4-year-old brother, Savion, placed photos of her beside the memorial.
Both parents said they want to see the center shut down and Fallings behind bars.
“I trusted this woman with my child and she took her away,” said Jazmin’s mother, April McAlister.
State regulations require daycare operators to complete and sign a checklist documenting the number of children who embark on an outing and the number who leave the vehicle. In addition, they are required to perform a sweep of the vehicle after each trip to ensure that no one is left behind.
Monday’s tragedy began when Hopkins oversaw an outing for eight children to Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Fayetteville.
According to the affidavit filed with the application for Fallings’ arrest warrant, Hopkins signed the checklist attesting that all eight children were removed from the van when it arrived back at the center around 2 p.m.
But under questioning Hopkins and Fallings acknowledged that the “checklist in actuality was completed showing all children removed prior to the van arriving at the day care center,” the affidavit says.
The document says Hopkins realized that Jazmin was missing around 2:35 p.m., roughly 35 minutes after the van got to the center. She returned to the van and found the child “still strapped into her car seat in the most rear seat, driver’s side.”
“Green was unresponsive at the time,” the affidavit says.
If those times are accurate, it means that an hour or more elapsed between the time Hopkins and Fallings realized something was wrong and when they called 911 at 3:44 p.m. Earlier reports indicated that Jazmin’s absence was not discovered for much longer. If that were the case, the time between the discovery and the 911 call would be shorter.
Jazmin was taken to Southern Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 4:43 p.m.
Clayton County police are still investigating the incident, trying to “piece together the time frame from when the child was discovered, when they tried to revive her and the time that elapsed between the discovery of the child and the 911 call,” spokesperson Lt. Tina Daniel said Thursday. She declined to give details.
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