Infant dies after being left behind in hot car following arrest of father

Authorities in Georgia have charged a young father with second-degree murder for the death of his infant daughter who perished in a hot car while he was in police custody.

"A man accused of leaving his 8-month-old daughter in his car for hours after he was taken into custody at the Snellville Police Department has been charged with second-degree murder, officials said during a Wednesday news conference," The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreports. "The toddler had been left in the hot car while her father, 20-year-old Davied Japez McCorry Whatley of Grayson, went to pick up a gun that was being held in police property custody, Snellville Detective Jeff Manley said. Whatley went into the building around 2:15 p.m., police said."

Police said Manley failed a background check to pick up his firearm over a probation violation and took him into custody.

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"At no point did Whatley mention his daughter being left in his vehicle, police said, a claim that is disputed by the family," the newspaper reported.

Channel 2 Action News interviewed Whatley's mother, Leticia Padilla.

“This situation didn’t have to happen,” the deceased's grandmother said. “All they had to do was listen. They thought he was lying."

The body was discovered in the parking lot of Snellville City Hall, which is next to the parking lot for the Snellville Police Department.

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