NEED TO KNOW
- Kandice Grace, 32, faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children in connection with the death of her son, Mazi Simmons
- Investigators found Mazi in the back seat of his mother’s vehicle with his head caught in the window
- The boy was “seated beside two younger siblings,” per the an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE
A Georgia mother was arrested on Monday, Sept. 29, after her 7-year-old son died when his head got stuck in a car window.
Kandice Grace, 32, is facing charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children in connection with the death of her son, Mazi Simmons.
Police were called to an Atlanta home just before 9:30 a.m. on April 6 about a child who’d been “found unresponsive,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE.
Investigators found Mazi in the back seat of his mother’s vehicle with his head caught in the window.
The boy was “seated beside two younger siblings,” per the warrant.
Police said the boy was “not alert, conscious, or breathing,” according to an Atlanta Police Department press release.
He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead by medical staff.
Also in the vehicle was Grace, who was “passed out in the driver’s seat,” the warrant alleges.
“While she was passed out in the driver’s seat, Mazi got stuck in the back seat window,” the warrant alleges.
A witness told police that Grace stopped by his home after 10 p.m. the night before. She allegedly left the kids in the car because she didn’t want the children to come inside his home, and then left shortly after.
The witness alleged that the following morning, he left his home and saw Grace’s vehicle in the parking lot. The witness stated that “the 7-year-olds head was hanging out of the window,” per the warrant. “He began banging on the car to wake up Ms. Grace.”
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When investigators arrived, Grace was inside a neighbor’s home with her youngest child.
“Investigators attempted to speak to Ms. Grace, but she kept passing out while sitting up and holding her child,” the warrant alleges.
A search warrant was obtained for her blood and urine test and later came back positive for opioids and THC, per the warrant.
She is being held in Fulton County Jail.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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