Atlanta man, Davied Japez McCorry Whatley, has been charged with second-degree murder after leaving his eight-month-old daughter in a hot car while she was in his custody.
Whatley reportedly left his infant daughter, who the Georgia Bureau of Investigations identified as Nova Grace Whatley-Trejo, in his car for several hours as he went to pick up firearms, confiscated in a previous case, at the Snellville Police Department on May 4.
However, during his pickup, authorities learned that he had a warrant out for his arrest due to violating his probation in Snellville, so they arrested him and took him to Gwinnett County Jail.
Police reportedly said conducting a background check for anyone picking up a gun at the police department was standard.
According to Snellville Detective Jeff Manley, the 20-year-old man went into SPD’s building around 2:15 p.m. His baby girl was rushed to Piedmont Eastside Emergency Room after 9 p.m., as her grandmother, Leticia Padilla, reportedly took her there. One of Whatley’s friends contacted her after he called them to check on the little girl.
Sadly, Whatley-Trejo was pronounced dead shortly after she arrived at the hospital.
Padilla insisted that Whatley told police that her granddaughter was inside the young man’s car, which was parked near the dumpsters at the Snellville City Hall.
“He told them,” she told WSB-TV. “He loved his daughter…she was in the parking lot, right where he said…all they had to do was listen.”
However, Snellville police said that wasn’t the case.
“He made no statements as to the fact that his daughter was left in the car,” the department told the news outlet.
“I’m absolutely astounded someone could leave an 8-month-old in the car, park away from our building and walk up here knowing that child was in the car,” Snellville Police Department detective Jeff Manely added.
Body camera footage released on May 5 now showed Whatley alerting them about eight-month-old Nova, who he left sleeping in his car.
Padilla said she believed the local police had been “covering their tracks.”
“They can say whatever they want to. They have to cover their tracks,” she claimed.
The investigation of her granddaughter’s death is ongoing.
