Ashlee Rochelle Stallings (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office) and the Amazon Fulfillment Center, where she was allegedly working after leaving her daughter in the car. (WBTV screenshot)
A 36-year-old mother in North Carolina is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly leaving her 8-year-old daughter in a hot car for hours while she went to work at an Amazon fulfillment center, killing the child, authorities said.
Ashlee Rochelle Stallings was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of child abuse by willful act causing serious injury, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, officers with the Freedom Division responded at about 6:30 p.m. on June 26 to an Assist MEDIC call regarding an unresponsive child at a business in the 4100 block of Wilkinson Boulevard.
Once there, first responders found an 8-year-old “in critical condition inside of a vehicle.” The girl died at a hospital. A crime scene was set up, and detectives collected evidence.
“Upon further investigation it was determined that the victim was left in a vehicle in hot weather conditions and suffered a medical emergency,” the release stated.
The temperature on Wednesday reached as high as 99 degrees and was the hottest day of the year, Charlotte, North Carolina, CBS affiliate WBTV reported.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by ABC News provided additional information on the tragic incident.
According to the report, Stallings told detectives she knowingly left her daughter in the car while she went to work at the Amazon Fulfillment Center but said she left the car running and the air conditioner on. Stallings reportedly said she believed that her daughter got cold and decided to turn the car off.
“She admitted she knew the temperature was 94 degrees outside and that she should not have left the victim inside the car alone,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Stallings said she left the child in the car for about 3.5 hours but noted that they had been in communication at least once during that period, Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC reported.
Stallings reportedly said it had been about 1.5 hours since she had received a text message from her daughter when she went out to the car and found the child foaming at the mouth and barely breathing. She then used a hammer to break the back window of the car and began driving to the nearest hospital but instead stopped at a nearby business and called 911.
A medical examiner reportedly determined that the 8-year-old’s cause of death was brain herniation due to hyperthermia.
“This is an incredibly tragic incident — during this difficult time, we’re supporting our employees and have made counseling resources widely available,” Amazon said in a statement circulated Friday.
Stallings is being held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in lieu of $250,000 bond, jail records show. She is set to appear in court on July 16.
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