New Mexico Women Accused Of Killing Toddler After Leaving Her Trapped In Hot Car
“I called to see what the weather was. It was 91 degrees outside,” Officer Cody Rodrigues said about the day 22-month-old Maliyah Jones was found dead due to heat exposure after being left in a hot vehicle by Mary and Sandi Taylor, a mother and daughter daycare team.
Two New Mexico women charged in the death of a toddler who perished while locked in a sweltering car are currently on trial in a Roosevelt County, New Mexico court.
Mother and daughter Mary Taylor and Sandi Taylor have been accused of leaving two kids in a hot car in Portales, New Mexico in July 2017, on a day when temperatures outside went into the 90s, according to local outlet KFDA. The incident resulted in the death of 22-month-old Maliyah Jones, as well as 2-year-old Aubrianna Loya.
“Maliyah Jones was smart. She was even teaching herself to be potty trained,” Andrea Reeb, the district attorney for New Mexico’s 9th Judicial District, said Jan. 30, according to Aubrey McCall, a KFDA reporter who live-tweeted his testimony.
The children both suffered from extreme heat exposure, local news outlet Everything Lubbock reports.
Both Taylor women, who run a daycare called Taylor Tots, made sure every other child in their care was out of the car, but not Jones or Loya.
“I called to see what the weather was. It was 91 degrees outside,” Officer Cody Rodrigues said on the stand, according to the KFDA reporter at the court.
So far, five witnesses, including the girls’ mothers and three Portales officers who responded to the incident, have taken the stand in the case.
The prosecution, which previously showed the 911 call of the incident, as well as the three officers’ bodycam footage of that day, presented their case on Friday, February 1, the outlet reports.
Defense attorney Tye Harmon previously said the incident was a tragic accident during opening statements, according to PEOPLE.
The trial is expected to go on until Thursday, according to KFDA.
On Tuesday, the trial will continue with closing arguments, according to Eastern New Mexico News.
[Photo Credits: Roosevelt County Detention Center]