3 Memphis daycare workers indicted in death of 6-year-old Winter Jones

The indictments follow a state investigation that found the daycare failed to follow several required transportation safety procedures.

Three employees of a Memphis-area daycare have been indicted in connection with the death of 6-year-old Winter Jones, who was found unresponsive inside a daycare van after being left in the vehicle for several hours.

Tametria Norry, Sabrina Powe and Amilya Hardin each face charges of aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide and destruction of and tampering with governmental records, according to authorities and Action News 5.

Jones was dropped off at Kid University in Cordova on the morning of Aug. 13 and was supposed to be transported to Macon Hall Elementary School. Authorities said she instead remained inside the daycare vehicle after it returned to the facility and was not discovered until later that afternoon.

Norry was the van driver, Powe was the daycare’s assistant director and Hardin was an assistant.

A subsequent investigation by the Tennessee Department of Human Services found the daycare was not compliant with several transportation requirements. Inspectors reported that required vehicle inspections were not completed after children were unloaded, the transportation log was inaccurate and required walk-throughs to confirm all children had exited the vehicle were not conducted.

The Commercial Appeal reported that Jones, who was autistic and nonverbal, was found unresponsive in the daycare bus after 3 p.m. on Aug. 13. The temperature in Memphis that afternoon reached 95 degrees, with a heat index of 103.

At a news conference before the indictments, Winter’s father, Bryan Jones, called his daughter’s death “an absolute nightmare.”

“As a father, I won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. I won’t become a grandfather. I can’t watch Winter progress even though she was diagnosed with autism,” he said. “Winter was progressing. All of that was taken away by absolute negligence.”

Winter’s mother, Nakia Cloman, described the phone call she received from the daycare.

“She said, ‘Winter was left on the bus,’ and she said, ‘She’s barely breathing,’ and I started screaming,” Cloman said, according to Action News 5. “As soon as I got to the hospital, she was no longer here. She was gone.”

Cloman said she wants Winter’s death to lead to changes that protect other children.

“I don’t want another child to become a headline before people decide that something needs to change,” she said.

Following the indictments, family attorney Taurus Bailey said the charges represented a first step toward accountability.

“I knew immediately that there had to have been a sigh of relief in their lives because accountability with the criminal justice system is something they really were looking forward to,” Bailey said, according to WREG.

Bailey also emphasized Winter’s vulnerability.

“Winter was six years old. She was autistic, and she was unable to communicate when she needed help,” he said. “She was placed on the bus by these people, who promised to keep her safe, and that promise was broken.”

Kid University has permanently closed, and its owner surrendered the facility’s license following Winter’s death.

The three defendants have been indicted, but the charges are allegations. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.