La. Mom Who Allegedly Left Baby Girl in Hot Car While She Worked at Fast Food Restaurant Charged with Her Death

A Louisiana mother accused of leaving her daughter in a hot car could be headed to trial after pleading not guilty to criminally negligent homicide in the child’s death, according to multiple reports. 

The woman later identified as Hannah Faith Cormier, 32, was arrested in August after she told authorities that she “inadvertently left” her 10-month-old daughter in the vehicle while she worked, the Jennings Police Department said in a press release posted to Facebook on Aug. 14.

At the time, the police said the young child “had been in a hot car approximately 1 1/2 hours” before she was found and taken to a local hospital, where staff “worked to obtain a pulse.” She was then listed as being in critical condition after she was taken to another emergency center.

Per the Associated Press, Cormier’s daughter “later died from what police said was a heat stroke.”

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Citing the police, American Press reported that the girl’s body temperature was 109 degrees when she was taken to the hospital, on a day when the temperature outside was in the 90s. Both American Press and the AP reported that Cormier was working at a fast food restaurant on the day of the incident.

Cormier was originally charged with second-degree murder and cruelty to a juvenile, but American Press, the AP and local news affiliate KPLC reported that she was subsequently indicted by a grand jury on a lesser charge, criminally negligent homicide.

After her charges were reduced, KPLC reported that Cormier was released on a $10,000 bond on Oct. 16. She then entered a not guilty plea in court on Oct. 28, American Press reported.

An attorney for Cormier tells PEOPLE he is unable to comment on the charges.

Cormier is due back on court in March 2025 for a pre-trial conference, when a potential trial could be scheduled, the AP reported.