JELANI A DOWNING-BATSON and UNNAMED SISTER - 20 months and 2 months - / Convicted: Brittney Downing, mother - Prince George County, VA

Single mother left two kids in car for EIGHT HOURS, killing infant son, 'because she couldn't find baby sitter while she went to work at new job'  

By Snejana Farberov PUBLISHED:10:28 EST, 30 May 2013

A 22-year-old Virginia mother has been charged with two counts of child neglect after police say she left her two young children inside a car for hours, which led to her son's death.

Brittney Downing, of Prince George County, was arrested Tuesday on charges of felony child neglect stemming from an incident that took place over the weekend.

According to police, the 22-year-old took her 18-month-old son and 2-month-old daughter to work with her on Sunday and left the babies in her car for the duration of her eight-hour shift.

Later that evening, Downing called 911 to report that her son was unresponsive. First responders who arrived on the scene pronounced the little boy dead and rushed his sister to an area hospital.

The 2-month-old girl remains on a ventilator in critical condition.

Downing, who has several other unrelated charges pending against her, is being held in jail without bond.

According to police, it was Downing’s third day on the job at Comfort Suites motel in Henrico County Sunday, and she decided to take her two small children along, presumably because she could not find anyone to watch them.

When she arrived at the hotel in Glen Allen, the 22-year-old mother left her children in the car while she went to work.


Bad parenting: Brittney Downing, 22, has been charged with two counts of child neglect after police say she left her two young children inside a car for hours


Caught in a bind: It was Downing's third day on the job at Comfort Suites motel in Henrico County, and she decided to take her small children along, likely because she could not find a baby sitter

Downing finished her shift that night and returned home to the Bailey Ridge apartment complex, where she lives with a roommate.

At around 6pm, Downing called 911 and said that her son was unresponsive in a bedroom.

Paramedics who arrived a short time later attempted to revive the boy, but to no avail. They also noticed that Downing's 2-month-old girl was 'experiencing problems' and rushed her to VCU Medical Center, where she is still fighting for her life.

Downing’s roommate and godmother to both her children, Adriana Williams, told the station NBC12 that she was there when officers arrived at their apartment.

According to Williams, she was the one who noticed that something was not right with her young goddaughter and alerted the EMS workers.


Heart-rending outcome: This touching tribute was left outside Downing's apartment, where her 18-month-old son was pronounced dead and her 2-month-old daughter was taken to a hospital in critical condition

Downing turned herself in to police Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, she appeared before a judge via video conference and said that she could not afford an attorney.


Besides the child neglect charges, the 22-year-old has three court dates scheduled for four different counts: June 10 for larceny; June 19 for felony obtaining money under false pretenses and July 17 for speeding and driving under a revoked license, the radio station 99.3Kiss Richmond reported.

Meanwhile, Downing's uncle, Antoine Scott, has spoken out about the tragedy, telling the TV station WTVRthat his niece has asked God to forgive her for what happened.


‘I want them to know, that she is human, everybody is human,’Scott said after the court hearing. ‘Unfortunately, this particular mistake cost the life of her son.’

According to her Facebook page, Downing, a native of New haven, Connecticut, studied electronics engineering at Norfolk State University and worked for the U.S. Navy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333403/Single-mother-left-kids-car-EIGHT-HOURS-killing-infant-son-baby-sitter-went-work-new-job.html

This was no "I forgot".  I know it's hard on single parents but she's smart enough to know you don't leave a child in a car for very long, if at all.  I pray otherwise but I just know the little girl won't make it.  If she does she'll have brain damage.  I hope and pray otherwise.  Just breaks my heart.      William

She studied electronic engineering and she doesn't have enough sense to know not to leave her babies in a hot car all day?

On top of that, someone else had to call 911, she didn't even care that her babies were dying.

Mistake my ass.

she needs to be locked up and sterilized. No excuse for this-should have kept her knees together.

Prince George goes to court for death of two children
HENRICO, VA (WWBT) -
A Prince George mother is expected in Henrico court Friday morning and more charges could be filed following the recent death of her second child.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Brittany Downing has a bond hearing to deal with the original child neglect charges she's facing.

Police say she left her kids in a hot car for eight hours while she was at work in Henrico. Her two month old daughter died Thursday. Her son died earlier this week.

The paper reports a funeral for the children is scheduled for next Saturday.

http://www.nbc12.com/story/22466188/prince-george-mother-of-children-that-died-in-car-goes-to-court

The other little angel died. Never had a chance.
William

Mother’s second child dies after allegedly being left in car for hours
Posted on: 4:41 pm, May 30, 2013, by Alix Bryan and Jon Burkett,
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – The two-and-a-half-month-old baby girl being treated at VCU Medical Center, after sources said she and her brother were left in a car, died Thursday afternoon.

The baby’s mother, Brittney Downing, was charged with two counts of felony child neglect on May 28, 2013, according to Henrico Police spokeswoman Lt. Linda Toney Downing’s 20-month-old son died over the weekend.

Henrico Police became involved when they were contacted by Prince George County Police, regarding the suspicious death of 20-month-old Jelani A. Downing-Batson.

On Tuesday, sources told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil that Downing left her children in her vehicle while she worked at a Glen Allen hotel on Sunday. On Thursday, Henrico Police said their investigation centered around events that occurred on May 26, 2013, at a hotel in the 10600 block of Telegraph Road.

Downing called 911 just before 6 p.m. on Sunday and said her oldest child was in the bedroom and unresponsive. When the emergency crews arrived, they pronounced the 20-month-old dead and said a 2-month-old infant in the apartment was “experiencing problems.”
The baby girl was rushed to VCU Medical Center where she was on a ventilator in critical condition for days.

Downing, 22, turned herself in to Henrico Police Tuesday morning. She will be held without bond pending her next court appearance.

CBS 6 also found that Downing faces other legal troubles, in three other counties.

In Chesterfield County she’s due in court June 10 for Misdemeanor Larceny. In Colonial Heights she’s due in court June 19 for felony obtaining money under false pretense.

In Henrico County she’s due in court July 17 for speeding and driving under a revoked license; her second offense.

Henrico police said their investigation continues. At the foot of the door of Downing’s apartment is a growing memorial for her two young children.

“It’s a loss that’s not natural,” said neighbor Kenyata Tyler. “I’m very saddened for her because I know she didn’t do it on purpose. I know she had to have done it in desperation.”

Outside Henrico’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Wednesday Downing’s uncle stepped in front of cameras and said the tragedy has put his family in a state of distress.

“She has to take full responsibility,” said her uncle Antoine Scott. “I know she’s asked God for forgiveness. I know she’s working on maintaining a psychology about her.”

Police asked if you have information about the case or if you saw the mother and her two children on Sunday, to call Crime Solvers at 804-733-2777.

http://wtvr.com/2013/05/30/2-month-old-left-in-car-died/

How awful. No woman can be this stupid. Those poor babies died a horrible torturous death.

The released the name of the poor little boy, but not that of his sister.

twinkletoes wrote:How awful. No woman can be this stupid. Those poor babies died a horrible torturous death.

It is horrific. But in most cases fortunately the little angels don't suffer torture that much. They just go lethargic and go to sleep. They never wake up as they are slowly baked to death. Never really feeling the pain. They just go to sleep and fly to heaven.

Remember Ava's rules, http://www.avasrule.com/avasrulepostcard.html also visit http://avarosemeyer.memory-of.com/About.aspx She was another little angel lost to a car.

Visit http://www.kidsandcars.org/ and http://www.kidsindanger.org/

Remember kids can have permanent damage or die in just 15-20 minutes in a hot car. Here in Illinois we have a law you can't leave a child in a car over 15 minutes. But that is even too long in the summer. Keep your little angels safe. William

I've been taking my kids in and out of cars for a quick run in the store for years... Even when they were both babies. And once I had just started a job and had my babysitter fail and I had no way to pay a daycare... Last resort i talked to my boss and she paid a daycare and I paid her back on my payday. Never occurred for me to leave them in a car. I instead called out and was willing to suffer the consequences of possibly losing my job. My boss had a better idea and respected me for being honest. What a POS mother.

William, thank you. It's still horrible but i feel better knowing they didn't suffer much.

Tina, me too. There is just no excuse. None.

Don't all states have mandatory "break" laws? In MD at least 1/2 hour if you work six (maybe even five) hours or more and 15 min if you work four hours; I haven't seen where she checked on them. Wonder if she did get a break? Wonder if she ran out to the car to see how they were doing?

William, I think break laws are federal. She didn't even bother to check on them. This is insane. I think it must have been intentional.

She did check on them once, apparently.

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – The mother accused of leaving her children in her car while she worked, checked on the children one time in seven hours. That is what Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor said during a Friday morning bond hearing for Brittney Downing.

The judge denied Downing bond citing the fact the 22-year-old mother was already out on bond for another crime when Sunday’s incident took place. Sources told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil that Downing left her children, ages 20-months and two-months, in her vehicle while she worked at a Glen Allen hotel on Sunday......

http://wtvr.com/2013/05/31/brittney-downing-denied-bond/

Murder suspect released from jail

Posted on: 4:13 pm, August 13, 2013

HENRICO, Va. (WTVR) – The Prince George woman whose children died after police said she left them in a hot car while she was working is out of jail.

Brittney Downing, 22, paid the $130,000 bond that was granted nearly one week ago.

She is charged with felony murder in the deaths of her 20-month-old son and 2-month-old daughter.

Police said Downing allegedly checked on the children in the car just once during her seven hour shift at a Glen Allen hotel. Both children later died of heat exhaustion.

http://wtvr.com/2013/08/13/murder-suspect-released-from-jail/

Oh great she can afford 130k but not daycare. Can I please lock her in my car for 7 days and check on her once too?

Baby girl's name is JADE
----------------------------------------------------------
Letters support murder suspect
By James Peacemaker, Jr. Managing Editor
Aug 12, 2013, 14:30


Downing

A 22-year-old Prince George woman charged in the deaths of her two young children could soon be free on bond after family, friends and members of her church rallied to support her.

Henrico Circuit Court Judge Gary Hicks approved bond Aug. 5 after the defense presented more than 80 letters praising Brittney Rochelle Downing as being polite, church-going and always willing to help others. Many letters say it was just a horrible mistake made by a woman who was desperate to keep her new job so that she could care for her two young kids.

But prosecutors say she left the two children in a hot car for seven hours May 26 when she went to work at a hotel in Henrico, only checking on them once, and she didn’t notice they needed medical help until after she had driven all the way back home. Twenty-month-old Jelani A. Downing-Batson was pronounced dead that same day and 2-month-old Jade Downing died four days later in the hospital.

In court Aug. 5, the defense also presented a list of other heat-related death cases in Virginia and showed that all of them were granted bond.

The judge set bond at $65,000 on each charge, for a total of $130,000.

Downing, of the 4600 block of Baileys Ridge Drive, just outside of Hopewell, was previously denied bond several times. She was also out on bond for an unrelated charge when the incident occurred.

If released, Downing would have GPS monitoring and be in the care of her parents, who are both pastors at a church in Hopewell.

Stephen and Pamela J. Downing, who live in southern Chesterfield, are pastors at Victorious Christian Living Ministries in Hopewell. The church is located in off Oaklawn Boulevard, not far from where Brittney Downing lived.

———

Court records show some details of how Downing’s promising life went awry.

Downing was born in New Haven, Conn., but her parents moved to Virginia shortly thereafter in 1990. She spent most of her life in Virginia.

They were very active in Bethesda Baptist Church, just north of Colonial Heights, and many letters from parishioners recall Brittney as being polite, sweet and never violent.

When Stephen and Pamela Downing started their church in Hopewell in 2002, Brittney became its first Sunday school teacher. Letters to the judge tell how Brittney was very active in that church as well.

Brittney was an honor roll student at Thomas Dale High School in Chester and was accepted to Norfolk State University with an engineering scholarship. She attended for two years but eventually left to raise her first child, her attorney said.

In testimony June 5, her father, Stephen Downing, said she took some classes at John Tyler Community College and even tried to join the Air Force but didn’t make it through boot camp due to scoliosis, a curvature of the spine.

Stephen Downing said Brittney moved out of her parent’s home about a year and a half ago.

He said she worked at various jobs, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Vangent and Amazon. But he said she had been unemployed since August 2012, shortly after becoming pregnant with her second child.

Stephen Downing said he and his wife provided support for their daughter but the father of Brittney’s kids offered little help.

When asked if the extended family cared for Brittney, he said “Oh yes, no doubt. Everyone loves her.”

But she also has faced criminal charges before.

Downing was charged in Colonial Heights with obtaining money by false pretenses, a felony usually associated with writing bad checks. The offense allegedly took place on Aug. 31, 2012, and she was arrested April 11, 2013, according to online court records. She is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 14.

She was also charged with petit larceny in Chesterfield in relation to an incident that occurred April 30, according to online court records. She also faced several traffic-related charges.

On July 17, she pleaded no contest in Henrico District Court to driving with a suspended license. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail but 29 days were suspended.

She also had been charged with failure to appear in court in Prince George, but defense attorneys say it was related to charges of failure to pay child support that she had filed. She missed the court date because she got the dates mixed up.

In court June 5, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon L. Taylor explained how the two children died.

Taylor said Brittney Downing had just started a new job at Comfort Suites in Glen Allen. On Sunday, May 26, Downing worked the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift. Prosecutors say she left the two children strapped in their seats in the car while she was working. They said that although the car was initially parked in the shade, as the day progressed, the car was in the sun the majority of the day. Prosecutors say the windows were cracked but Downing only checked on the children once during the day, around 1 or 1:30 p.m.

The temperature reached a high of 76 degrees in Richmond that day, according to weather records.

Around 6 p.m. after Downing returned home, Prince George Police responded to her apartment in the 4600 block of Bailey Ridge Lane after a 911 call for an unresponsive child.

Emergency crews tried to revive 20-month-old Jelani A. Downing-Batson but were unsuccessful.

Two-month-old girl Jade Downing was rushed to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond. She was in critical condition and died four days later around 12:30 p.m. May 30.

Brittney Downing was initially charged with two counts of felony child neglect on May 28. The charges were later changed to murder when she was indicted July 8.

———

At a court hearing in June, Downing’s attorney said she is not a flight risk because she has spent her entire life living in Virginia, has no means of transportation or financial means due to her unemployment.

The defense said she has no history of violence or mental instability, and this was a case of negligence, not violence.

“There is no evidence or implication that Brittney acted with ill will, malice or premeditation. ... Brittney’s fatal actions were the result of an ill-fated attempt to financially support and help her children,” her attorney said.

The defense said Downing has support from family, friends and her church.

“Brittney is revered and well-loved,” the attorney said.

Words from friends, family and members of her church seem to back up that assertion.

Letters came from as far away as Florida and Massachusetts, and from prominent members of the community, including a nurse, social worker, retired police officer, a business owner, numerous church officials and even her hairdresser.

One friend recalled how Downing drove from South Carolina to Virginia to pick her up in North Carolina after her sister died.

A family member recalled how polite she was, always speaking with “Yes, ma’am, no ma’am.”

Some recalled how she was always caring to her little sister.

A church member recalled how her children always appeared clean, well dressed and cared for. She said the older child was always smiling and pleasant.

A letter from one of Downing’s cousins shared a story from when they were on a family trip.

“I remember when we visited the White House a few years back. We all were home getting prepared, my son ... was younger and had a difficult time getting dressed. [Brittney] came to me and offered assistance (prior to having children of her own). She presented to him a gentle, soft spoken voice, which immediately calmed him. He followed her commands without protest. She did not once raise her voice and it was followed by a gentle smile,” she wrote.

She said Downing was never violent and was very happy when her children were born.

In another letter, Downing’s grandmother said she is a “loving young adult” and “still a blessing to so many.”

“I took care of Brittney in my home in S.C. for summer breaks and enjoyed our intimate time as I watched her mature into a beautiful young lady. I have had several illnesses and Brittney was there to take care of me for years, while I lived with her mother and father in VA,” she wrote.

A woman who remembers when Brittney Downing herself was a baby at Bethesda Baptist Church in southern Chesterfield said she also served as Jelani’s first babysitter while Downing worked. She said Downing was  a “good, loving, and kind mother.”

“I baby sat Jelani until she found another baby sitter. Every morning his baby-bag was packed with clean clothes, milk, and food, everything he needed or might need for the day,” she wrote.

A member of the Downings’ church wrote to share how Brittney Downing served in various roles at Victorious Christian Living Ministries. She said Downing served as an usher, in the outreach ministry, nursing home ministry and product/book ministry.

“Brittney as a mother, I’d always observe her carefully tend to Jelani in church. She’d always sit on the second row in the section across from where I’d usually be seated. As Jelani began taking steps, I’d catch them smiling and playing in a quiet way. I would smile and make playful gestures at him and he’d turn back and to his mom, both exchanging big smiles. She’d brought Jade to church, she was so quiet and well kept. It was a peaceful-like joy to observe such innocence of her and her children,” she wrote.

Another letter came from a minister who helped clean out Downing’s apartment after the incident.

“I could see the love she had for her children from the food she had for the children, the toys (educational & developmental), clothing, and pictures of her and her children on her wall. Even down to the yellow ‘rubber ducky’ in the bathroom on the edge of her ... bathtub. It brought tears to my eyes to see and feel the love her home showed for her children and to think that anyone would believe that Brittney intentionally harmed her children,” she said.

She said Downing later sent a card thanking her for officiating the funeral of her children and packing up her apartment.

http://www.hopewellnews.com/article_5735.shtml

Then why, oh why, didn't she call one of these loving friends or relatives that Sunday? It doesn't make sense. Some people don't have family, but here you've got dozens of close relatives....it's heartbreaking.  

She's too poor to get a babysitter but she can cough up bail money?

Wonder whether she paid $13,000 to a bondsman or came up with $130,000.

Kids Dead After Mom Left Them In Car While She Worked

Richmond Times-Dispatch    | by  Bill McKelway  
Posted:  01/09/2014 9:23 am EST    Updated:  03/11/2014 5:59 am EDT  

In a barely audible voice, 23-year-old Brittney R. Downing for the first time Wednesday publicly admitted guilt in the deaths of her two children, a baby daughter 3 months old and a son, 20 months, who was the first to die.

The former high school academic standout and scholarship college student showed little emotion in a Henrico County Circuit Court proceeding that lasted barely 30 minutes.

But her lawyer, Vaughan Jones, said after court that a three-hour sentencing hearing in March, which could bring Downing up to 25 years in prison, "will reveal a heartbreaking ordeal for everyone involved."

Downing, who remained free on $130,000 bond Wednesday, was a devoted, caring mother, Jones said, who adored her children and fatally tried to balance her independence as a single mother, her need for work and an inability to find help with child care in May last year.

Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor told the court Wednesday that the two children were kept in a locked car in the parking lot of a Henrico hotel where Downing worked and that, despite moderate temperatures that did not exceed 73 degrees outside, the children's body temperatures reached levels that caused their brains to swell and bring on severe neurological distress.

Downing's son, Jelani, 20 months, apparently was dead by the time Downing reached her home that Sunday, May 26, after work.

Downing's infant daughter, Jade, died four days later while on life support at a hospital. The infant survived longer because her skull, which had not fully formed, was better able to accommodate her swelling brain, Taylor said.

Downing, accompanied by sheriff's deputies, was able to see her deceased children the day before their funeral.

But Taylor, relying on witness accounts, described the young woman's demeanor as flat with no affect at her apartment as family members and a roommate became distraught in the wake of what was unfolding May 26.

Taylor called the pleas to involuntary manslaughter charges, reduced from felony murder indictments carrying up to 40 years each, appropriate given the circumstances of the case.

She said she sympathizes with Downing's predicament but said Downing also showed a reckless disregard for the welfare of the children and is responsible for their deaths.

Downing also faces a child endangerment charge stemming from her admission that she had on a previous occasion left the infant in the car alone at the same hotel. She had begun working there just days before the May 26 incident.

"What happened in court is justifiable given the facts of this case," Taylor said. The plea agreement leaves Taylor free to ask that the maximum allowable punishment be imposed.

Dressed in a black suit and high heels, Downing was accompanied Wednesday by her father and mother, former military personnel who operate a Hopewell storefront church and live in a middle-class suburb near Colonial Heights.

Neither parent testified Wednesday, but Jones said he will summon numerous witnesses at the sentencing hearing March 26, many of whom wrote letters of support for Downing when she was granted bond in August.

Among the letters was one from a minister who described Downing, a Thomas Dale High School graduate and scholarship engineering student in college, as "an overwhelmed young mother" whose role in her children's deaths were "in no way committed in malice or intention to cause harm." ___


(c)2014 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/09/brittney-downing-guilty_n_4565948.html

It looks like Brittney took a plea deal and her sentencing hearing is next week, March 26th. They said she's facing up to 25 years but we all know they'll probably let her off with a slap on the wrists because of all the family and friends that say she was a wonderful person. Well like someone else posted, where were all those wonderful people when she needed a babysitter. I don't buy her excuse for leaving them in the car. She wasn't stupid. She excelled in high school and went to college for two years majoring in engineering and should have known her children's brains would boil in a hot car for 7 or 8 HOURS. I hope she gets 25 years and thinks about those poor children's last day on earth and how much torture they went through.

I still wonder where she came up with bail money when she couldn't pay a babysitter.

She was an excellent student so that means she wasn't dumb, she knew better. 

You're right BabyJ, a slap on the wrist for  two dead babies.  Then she'll breed again when she gets out.