Man Charged With Murder After Leaving 8-Month-Old Daughter In Hot Car While In Custody

A Georgia man has been charged with murder after his 8-month-old daughter died inside a hot car while he was getting arrested. The 20-year-old dad who was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant did not tell officials about the infant being left unattended in the car, police said.

Davied Whatley approached Snellville Police Department at around 2.00 p.m. Tuesday to retrieve firearms that were confiscated from him in a previous case, CBS News reported. Whatley had meanwhile, left his daughter inside his car that was parked nearby the City Hall parking lot, two buildings away from the police department.

However, the police department does not return the guns until they are sure that the individuals are not convicted felons. The officials who ran a background check on Whatley found a warrant for a misdemeanor probation violation in connection to a hit-and-run case with no insurance and he was immediately taken into custody from the lobby.

Whatley spent more than 40 minutes at the station before he was shifted to Gwinnett County Detention Center.

The incident came to light at around 10 p.m. the same day when the child's grandmother, who was reportedly informed by Whatley, took the baby to an emergency room at a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation who reviewed bodycam footage that recorded the officers' interaction with Whatley confirmed that he didn't tell the police about the child being left unattended in the car.

"I'm absolutely astounded that somebody would leave an eight-month-old in a car, park away from our building and walk up here knowing that child is in the car and leaving her," Snellville Police detective Jeff Manley said in a press conference Wednesday, as per USA Today.

Meanwhile, it is unclear how long the infant was inside the car before she was brought to the hospital, police said. The child's cause of death was not revealed. The temperature in Snellville rose to 86 °F Tuesday, according to National Weather Service data.

Whatley was released on bail Tuesday night in connection with the probation violation case but was arrested again on second-degree murder charges Wednesday for his child's death.