KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A 6-month-old who was found dead in a hot car on a 93-degree August day died because he became too hot, an autopsy report states.
Search warrant documents 10News acquired Thursday detail what the Knoxville woman told authorities after her infant was found that afternoon.
At 3:14 p.m. Aug. 9, officers responded to the Clinton Highway Food City about an unresponsive infant. When officers arrived, the mother, who's now facing a murder charge, ran up to officers and said, "It's my fault! I forgot to drop my baby off at daycare," the warrant said.
A Knox County grand jury last week indicted Chantae Cabrera, also known as Chantae Armstrong, for first-degree murder, felony murder and aggravated child neglect.
According to the warrant, Cabrera, 30, made the 911 call after she said her oldest daughter noticed the infant in the backseat.
In the autopsy report, it said Cabrera tried to give the infant CPR before calling for help.
"A bystander also attempted CPR at the mother's request," the autopsy report said.
The ambient outdoor temperature was 93 degrees Fahrenheit most of the day, according to the autopsy report. An investigator on the scene said he took the temperature inside the car and it was 100 degrees but that was after the car door had been opened for some time.
Cabrera told officers she dropped her oldest daughter off at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School on Walnoaks Road that morning. According to the warrant, she told police she thought she left the infant at Wonderland Daycare on Merchant Drive after dropping her oldest daughter off.
When she left her job at a skincare clinic at 2:30 p.m., records show Cabrera told officers she got back in the car and picked up her oldest daughter at school.
She said, according to the warrant, that she drove with her daughter to pick up some groceries at Food City. It was her intent to then go and pick up the boy at Wonderland.
In the warrant, she said she and her daughter were making a grocery list in the parking lot of the Food City when her daughter said, "What is that?" and they found the infant in the backseat and called 911.
Investigators took Cabrera's cell phone because they believe the GPS tracking could show and confirm the route she claimed she drove.
Cabrera was arrested early Friday in West Knoxville by members of the Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force.
Knoxville Police and the Department of Children's Services had released very little information about their investigation until now.
On Friday, attorney Don Bosch explained why there are two murder charges for one death. One charge is felony murder, meaning a murder that occurred in the commission of another felony, and one charge is first-degree murder.
"Aggravated child abuse and neglect is the underlying charge, that's the first thing and that's the act of leaving a child in a hot car to be injured and to be seriously injured," said Bosch. "In this case, that serious injury resulted in death and that's how it gets to felony first-degree under those corresponding theories."
Both murder charges have a maximum sentence of life in prison, with or without parole.
10News spoke with one of Cabrera's co-workers last week who said while she hasn't been at work, Cabrera is still employed at Skin Wellness Center in West Knoxville. Neighbors and daycare workers listed as witnesses in court records could not be reached or declined to comment regarding Cabrera.
While the cause of death was classified as hyperthermia, the manner of death is classified as "undetermined", according to the autopsy report.
She's set to appear in Knox County Criminal Court on Nov. 13 for arraignment.