Get notified by email when this case is updated.
Written by: E. George
Published July 3, 2024 @ 8:45 PM ET
Update #1: Cobb police held a press conference Wednesday morning and stated that there was no evidence that the child was ‘left’ inside the hot car at this time. Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer identified the child as a two-year-old boy. He stated that police are not filing charges at this time but did not comment on whether or not charges would be filed in the future. Detectives believe the boy may have been in the car for a few hours and how the boy managed to get inside the car remains unclear. The investigation is ongoing. Updates will be provided as they become available.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Authorities are investigating the death of a child found in a car parked in a driveway outside a Marietta home on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Cobb County Police officers responded to the Wanda Circle residence at approximately 6:50 PM after someone called 911.
Police said the victim died after being in the car for an “extended period of time.” Temperatures lingered in the low 80s; however, officials have not released the cause of death or the child’s age or identity.
Emergency medical services responded, and an ambulance transported the child to the hospital, where they were pronounced deceased. Officials are in the process of determining the exact amount of time the victim was left inside the vehicle.
A witness, said, “It was a tragedy. People were screaming, and then 911 was called, and somebody was dragged out… a body was dragged out.”
They explained that people were crying while medics assessed the victim’s condition. Witnesses said they saw police speaking with two individuals at the home.
While authorities have not listed this incident as a hot car death, Georgia has suffered several similar situations in recent years. In 2023, a mother, Ariel Osbey, faced murder charges when her 14-month-old daughter died from heat exhaustion after Osbey left her inside a vehicle in Newton County.
Four of these tragedies occurred in 2022: an eight-month-old female in Snellville, a nine-month-old female in Macon, a one-year-old female in Danielsville, and a three-year-old male in Columbus. In 2014, Justin Ross Harris left his two-year-old son in the back seat of his car for nearly seven hours while he worked his shift at Home Depot.
Additional updates will be provided as they become available.
Get notified by email when this case is updated.