Gwinnett County mother allowed to attend son's funeral amid murder charges

Deja Coleman, a 29-year-old Gwinnett County woman, has been granted permission by a judge to attend the funeral of her 1-year-old son, Daniel Coleman. Coleman is currently being held without bond in the Gwinnett County Detention Center facing charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.

The charges stem from a July 29 incident at Northside Hospital Gwinnett, where investigators allege Coleman left her son in her vehicle for approximately eight hours while she worked a shift as a certified nursing assistant. During this time, temperatures inside the vehicle reportedly reached 114 degrees.

Coleman’s attorney, Tom Ford, has argued that the death was a devastating mistake rather than a criminal act, citing sleep deprivation and the challenges of caring for multiple children. Ford requested that Coleman be allowed to attend the service in civilian clothes without handcuffs and sought to have the murder charge dismissed, but these requests were denied. The case has been moved to Gwinnett County Superior Court.