Mother charged with murder after baby left in hot car dies

JENNINGS, La. (KPLC/Gray News) – A mother in Louisiana is facing a murder charge in connection to the death of her 10-month-old baby.

Hannah Faith Cormier, 32, told police she accidentally left her daughter in the car when she was called to work on Aug. 13, Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes said.

Investigators determined the internal temperature of the vehicle was from 140 to 150 degrees.

According to Semmes, work records indicate Cormier had been at work for two hours before taking the baby girl to the hospital around 4 p.m.

Authorities said the infant had a temperature of 109 degrees when she arrived at the hospital.

The baby died at the hospital the following night.

Cormier was arrested Sunday afternoon on a count of cruelty to juveniles and a count of second-degree murder. She is being held on a $1 million bond.

Semmes said witness statements, forensic evidence, surveillance video and electronic records led detectives to charge Cormier with second-degree murder instead of negligent homicide.

He called the case “complex,” though he was unable to release any other details.