Woman Charged in Kid’s Hot Car Death Waives Trial
A Smyrna woman has waived a preliminary hearing, sending to a grand jury charges that she left her two children to perish in a hot car. An October empanelment of the grand jury will hear the police case against 25-year-old Samantha Harper. She was arrested on two counts of especially aggravated child abuse. Public Defender Gerald Melton said Thursday he believes no criminal acts occurred. Investigators said Harper put 2-year-old, Savannah Marise, and 3-year-old, Daniel Marise in her car at the family’s home on Aug. 2 and then went back into the house and fell asleep. She found the children dead about three hours later. The National Weather Service said the high temperature that day reached ninety-nine degrees in Smyrna.
