HEARING POSTPONED IN FOSTER BOYS' DEATHS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A court hearing for a Lancaster foster mother accused of child abuse in the deaths of two boys was postponed Tuesday to give her time to make financial arrangements to retain her attorney, officials said. Leslie Smoot, 48, was ordered last month to stand trial on charges she left Nehemiah Prince, 3, and Dakota Prince, 5, in her Cadillac Escalade The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury sport utility vehicle sold by the General Motors luxury brand, Cadillac. It was the division's first major entry into the popular SUV market. for five hours in near 100-degree heat July 8 outside her Lancaster child care center, A Child's Place. A detective testified at Smoot's preliminary hearing that she told him she forgot to take the boys out of her vehicle after arriving at the center. Smoot has pleaded not guilty to two counts of child abuse with special allegations of willful Intentional; not accidental; voluntary; designed. There is no precise definition of the term willful because its meaning largely depends on the context in which it appears. harm or injury to a child causing death. If convicted, Smoot faces more than 15 years in prison. She is out on bail awaiting trial. The hearing Tuesday was an arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted at which the charges against her would be read formally following last's month's preliminary hearing. The boys had been under her care for about four months, and Smoot had taken them to the center with her, the detective testified. Smoot told investigators that she arrived at the center between 8:30 and 9 in the morning, and when she went out to the vehicle about 2 p.m., she noticed the boys were unconscious inside, the detective testified. The older boy was declared dead at the scene by emergency crews, and the younger brother Wiki is aware of the following uses of "'Younger Brother":
The Antelope Valley Hospital. An autopsy determined that the boys died from the effects of hyperthermia hyperthermia /hy·per·ther·mia/ (-ther´me-ah) hyperpyrexia; greatly increased body temperature.hyperther´malhyperther´mic malignant hyperthermia , or excessive heat. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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