Mother charged
with murder after 3-year-old left in car dies
According to warrants obtained by 11Alive, police believe Stone left the boy
in the car from just after noon until 3:30 in the afternoon.
FULTON
COUNTY, Ga. -- Police have charged a mother with murder in the death of her
3-year-old child who was allegedly left in a car for three hours.
Lillian Stone had been charged with cruelty to children after authorities
said her son was left in a car for several hours on Oct. 31. Those charges
were upgraded to murder after the boy passed away on Saturday, Fulton County
Police spokesperson Maureen Smith confirmed.
A neighbor noticed the
boy around 3:30 p.m. in Stone’s car in her driveway and called police.
According to warrants obtained by 11Alive, police believe Stone left the
boy in the car from noon until 3:30 in the afternoon. The warrant said the
little boy was still buckled into his car seat. 11Alive is not identifying
the little boy, who was in critical condition for several days before
passing away.
According to the 11Alive StormTrackers, the temperature
that day ranged from 66 degrees to 71 degrees during that timeframe.
A recent investigation by Consumer Reports shows that on a 61 degree day,
which is cooler than it was that day, it only takes one hour before the
internal temperature of the car reaches 105 degrees.
According to
medical experts, children can suffer from heat stroke and even death at 104
degrees.
Smith said that authorities are awaiting autopsy results to
determine the child's cause of death.