Hannah Faith Cormier (Jeff Davis Parish)
A Louisiana mother drove her 10-month-old daughter to her job at Wendy's and left the girl in the car while she worked inside as the heat index outside reached triple digits, according to authorities.
Hannah Faith Cormier, 33, was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for the death of her daughter, who has not been publicly identified, according to the Jeff Davis Parish District Attorney's Office.
Cormier left her daughter in the car for about two hours as she worked at the fast-food joint in Jennings, which is in western Louisiana, on Aug. 13, 2024. The temperatures that day were in the low 90s with the heat index — or what the temperature actually felt like — of about 106, local Fox and NBC affiliate KADN reported. The temperature in the car was measured at 140 degrees, per cops.
The girl was rushed to the hospital, where she died the next day.
Cormier initially faced a second-degree murder charge.
"The situation wasn't a case of she just forgot the baby in the car," Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes told KADN at the time. "That's what brought us to charging her."
Semmes said Cormier "intentionally" drove the girl to work. She didn't have "intent to do harm" but her actions caused the girl's death, Semmes told KADN.
A grand jury indicted Cormier on a charge of negligent homicide in October 2024. She pleaded no contest to the charge in July. Prosecutors were seeking between five and 10 years in prison. The sentence was enhanced because the girl was under the age of 10.
"The death of any child is heartbreaking and losing this 10-month-old baby has deeply affected our whole community," District Attorney Lauren Heinen said in a statement. "No sentence can bring her back or take away the pain everyone feels. This was a difficult case with tragic circumstances, but every child deserves to be protected. We will continue to stand up for those who can't speak for themselves."