Baby died in hot car while mom got her hair done, police say

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of a child found dead inside of a car parked in an Emory Hospital parking deck is facing charges.

Channel 2's Nicole Carr was the first to report that Dijanelle Etta Fowler, 25, has been charged with second degree murder, concealing death and second degree cruelty to children.

Police said around 5 p.m. on June 15, Fowler called 911 from the parking deck and reported a “medical emergency.” Responders found her 1-year-old daughter dead in the back seat. Fowler was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for seizure-like symptoms.

DeKalb County investigators say Fowler had driven around with her dead baby for hours. Earlier in the day, they said Fowler left the baby in a running car while she got her hair done. About six hours later, she came out of the Tucker salon and found the baby had suffocated, and the car had cut off.

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Instead of calling 911, police say their investigation shows Fowler called someone to jump her car.

Warrants reveal the man who helped her was unlikely to see the child's body in the backseat because there were "lots of clothes" to cover her.

Hours later, Fowler made the 911 call from Emory Hospital. According to the warrants, Fowler sent a text to the child's Godfather and said she was going to urgent care for a headache. The documents said she Googled "seizure symptoms" before parking in the hospital deck.

Fowler was released from the hospital, but never offered an explanation for her dead baby.

Fowler turned herself into the DeKalb County jail late Monday night, after a Fugitive Task Force searched for her in South Carolina and Miami.

She will face a judge Tuesday evening.

Cox Media Group