Three employees of a childcare center in Memphis, Tennessee, are facing felony charges following the death of a six-year-old girl left inside a van in triple-digit heat.
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employees → face → heat
Winter Jones, a non-verbal, autistic child, died August 13 after being in a Kid University van for at least six hours outside the facility in the Cordova neighborhood.
Picked up from home that morning, Winter was originally scheduled to be transported by staff to Macon Hall Elementary School but instead remained in the vehicle when it returned to the Kid University facility.
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it → die → facility
According to state investigators, facility staff failed to conduct required vehicle inspections, neglected to perform necessary van walk-throughs and kept inaccurate transportation logs.
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staff → accord → logs
On the day Winter died, Memphis temperatures reached the upper 90s with a heat index of 103 degrees Fahrenheit, according to National Weather Service data.
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temperatures → die → data
Tametria Norry, the driver, Assistant Director Sabrina Powe and daycare assistant Amilya Hardin, are each charged with aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide and the destruction and tampering of governmental records, ABC 24 Memphis reported.
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Memphis → charge → records
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office reported that the indictment against the three staff members was returned by a grand jury September 11.
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indictment → report → jury
Bail for each defendant was set at $100,000.
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Bail → set → 100,000
Court records indicate Norry and Powe were booked on the day of the indictment, while Hardin was arrested Monday.
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Hardin → indicate → indictment
Kid University has permanently closed following the incident.
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University → close → incident
Dr. Raven Marshall-Lewis, the owner, surrendered the facility's license immediately after the child's death.
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Lewis → surrender → death
State records confirm this marks the second child fatality at a childcare facility operated by Marshall-Lewis following the 2021 death of three-month-old Colt Adkins at the Ivy League Learning Center in Bartlett, Tennessee.
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this → confirm → Bartlett
Marshall-Lewis continues to operate six other facilities across Shelby County.
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Lewis → continue → County
The indictments followed a press conference held by the family, less than two weeks after the child’s funeral.
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indictments → follow → funeral
“This is an absolute nightmare,” Bryan Jones, the victim's father, said.
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Jones → say → ?
“As a father, I won’t be able to walk her down the aisle.
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I → walk → aisle
I won’t become a grandfather.
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I → become → ?
“I can’t watch Winter progress even though she was diagnosed with autism.
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she → watch → autism
Winter was progressing.
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Winter → progress → ?
All of that was taken away by absolute negligence, by people who were too busy doing nothing to where they couldn’t make sure Winter was taken care of properly.”
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Winter → take → care
Nakia Cloman, the child's mother, recalled receiving the notification from the facility.
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Cloman → recall → facility
“She said, ‘Winter was left on the bus,’ and she said, ‘She’s barely breathing…’ and I started screaming,” Cloman said.
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Cloman → say → bus
“As soon as I got to the hospital, she was no longer here.
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she → get → hospital
She was gone.”
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She → go → ?
The family’s lawyer said that criminal charges offered initial accountability but they were still considering a civil lawsuit.
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they → say → lawsuit
“I knew immediately there had to be a sigh of relief in their lives because accountability with the criminal justice system is something they were looking forward to,” Taurus Bailey, the attorney, told NBC affiliate Action News 5.
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Bailey → know → affiliate
“There are going to be other people who may need to be held accountable on the civil end, including the childcare academy.
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who → be → academy
They were the last gatekeepers to that system operating properly.
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They → operate → system
But they completely failed.”
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they → fail → ?
The Aporia
