Background: Kid University in Memphis, Tenn. (Google Maps). Inset left: Winter Jones (Serenity Funeral Home). Inset right: Tametria Norry (Shelby County Sheriff's Office).
One of the women charged in Tennessee in connection with the death of a 6-year-old girl who was left alone in a daycare van for hours admitted she did not do a required check of the vehicle because "she was hot," authorities say.
Tametria Norry, 49, has been indicted on charges of aggravated child abuse, criminally negligent homicide and destroying or tampering with government records in connection with the death of Winter Jones.
Sabrina Powe, 43, and Amilya Hardin, 21, face the same charges, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
On Aug. 13, Winter was dropped off at Kid University in Cordova, Tennessee, which is just east of Memphis. The next step was for her to be dropped off at Macon-Hall Elementary School in Cordova by Norry, the daycare's driver.
Norry did drive to the school, but she incorrectly logged Winter as having been dropped off, according to a Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) report obtained by local NBC affiliate WMC. In reality, the girl — who was nonverbal and had autism — never exited the van, the report said.
Instead of entering the school, Winter was left alone in the van as it returned to the daycare and then sat in the sun. Temperatures outside apparently reached at least 97 degrees that day.
It wasn't until about 2:30 p.m. that afternoon that daycare staff found Winter inside the van. Emergency workers responded, and the girl was pronounced dead.
Authorities questioned Norry, and she allegedly conceded that she never checked the van to make sure all children were taken off because "she was hot." The other defendants similarly admitted they didn't check the van despite signing a log confirming a walk-through had taken place, per WMC.
The women were arrested and jailed, and all of them eventually posted $50,000 bond and were released. They are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 30.
Winter's family is also reportedly pursuing civil litigation.