Children die in hot car while their mother was at the hair salon

SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (CNN) -- A Detroit woman whose two small children died in her car while she was getting her hair styled has been taken into custody, police said.

"There's no excuse for it. This woman's a criminal. I'm going for murder one," said Southfield Chief of Police Joseph E. Thomas.

The woman confessed that she left her 10-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son in her 1995 black Dodge Neon for more than three hours Friday afternoon, Thomas said.

Tara Maynor, 25, was a regular at Utopia Salon of Southfield, where she had an appointment Friday to have her hair curled, said the shop owner, Bruce Moore.

Around 11 p.m. Friday, officers responded to Providence Hospital on a report that the bodies of the two children had been brought in by their mother.

The girl, Acacia Darcell Maynor, and her older brother, Adonnis Dominuque Maynor, were pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

The mother initially told investigators she had been abducted from the parking lot of the salon, raped, and then returned to her car, which was in the lot.

There, she said, she found her children still inside the car, according to Thomas.

But late Friday night, she confessed that she had left the children unattended in the car for more than three hours during the afternoon, while she was having her hair done, Thomas said.

"The temperature was in the mid 80s," he said. "It had to be between 115 and 120 degrees in that car."

After the mother discovered her children were dead, she drove around for about an hour, "trying to conjure up an excuse for her actions," Thomas said.

Only after concocting the rape story did she take the children to Providence Hospital, Thomas said.

The woman is being held in the Oakland County Jail Southfield Annex "pending further review by the prosecutor's office, which will probably come early next week," said Det. John Harris.

Just interested in what you guys have to say about this.

I don't have children myself but I do have dogs and I cannot imagine accidently leaving them both in a car while I went and had my hair done. This sounds a little strange...

Why would anyone in there right mind leave there children in the car when they know it is hot outside. I dont understand people sometimes.She should be in jail for what she has done and trying to make an excuse for it thats just wrong. That really pisses me off that people have the heart to do that


- Mazzy

That is horrible!!!! That is absolutely child abuse!!! I hope they throw the book at her!!! Can you imagine what those poor kids went through???? It is too horrible to imagine!!!

I saw this yesterday and was, of course, sickened. I personally find that behavior such as this is commonplace in the population of the school in which I teach. Last year, I was on duty at the car rider drop off. If 1% of our kids were seat belted, that would be a lot. Even babies aren't in car seats. In the last month of school alone, 2 neighborhood families lost people in fatal car accidents and zero seat belts were neing used.

Anyway, the story harkened me back to the worst trouble I ever got in as a kid. My mother had a hair appointment, and I asked if I could go. She said no, but I snuck into the car and hid on the floor of the backseat (easy in a '57 Chevy). When we got there, I popped up and said "Surprise!" Suffice it to say that she was...... She made me sit "like a statue" for 3 hours in a chair in the salon. To think, if I was in the car, I might not be typing this.

In all honesty, we would be made to sit in the car if we misbehaved in a store or something, but never for 3 hours.

Fixed the title for you, Jessica.

What kind of *$#&*#@ idiot would forget to leave their children in a hot car in the middle of the summer? I hope they prosecute her -- those poor babies I cannot imagine doing that -- I feel bad when I see animals sitting in cars even with the windows down.

Thanks Debby!!

Just last week, the paper did a series of stories about how hot a car gets. They put lipsticks and crayons in a closed car. Within 1/2 hour, these were puddled. They, also, put eggs and cookie dough on the dashboards. The eggs cooked and the cookies baked. Would you put your child or pet in the oven and crank up the heat?

I can't believe anyone would be so stupid and selfish to leave their poor helpless children in a car alone on a hot day. I feel for those poor babies who probably suffered a lot. And I can't believe that she made up a lie about what happened! I would be so devestated if I had kids and they died. I hope she gets many years or life in prison for what she did. Those poor kids hardly had a chance to live their life, so she shouldn't be allowed to live the rest of hers free.

When she made up her story, I wonder if she even thought about the fact that she wouldn't be able to pass a rape kit? Doesn't sound like she has much brains at all, and no maternal instincts. 3 hours in a black car and probably only had the windows cracked if that!

I think they should put her in a sweat box for a week out in the desert to exact justice. I hope they get the murder one conviction. There is no excuse for such stupidity. None at all!

Spooky, I agree completely with everything you said. I think it's really sad that we hear about either kids or pets dying like this every single year. How can anyone possibly be THAT STUPID!!!!

This is off topic, but it's another story about a child dying unnecessarily just because someone was having their hair done.

Many years ago when my friend's husband Dale, was growing up, his family lived along a busy highway. One day the parents had to go somewhere and an aunt came to babysit. Instead of staying at the house, the aunt went to have her hair done. The kids all went outside and Dale's four year sister was busy playing with her kitten. She followed the kitten when it ran across the highway and she was hit by a semi. The aunt was still having her hair done and when one of the kids told her what had just happened she ran down the street to the house in curlers. Dale ran up to his sister right after the accident and watched her die a few minutes later. He blamed the kitten for his sister's death, and has never fully recovered from what happened that day. For some reason, the aunt was never held responsible.

Geez Lorie that is awful. That must have been very hard for the whole family to deal with.

Maybe the goverment should outlaw having your hair done since it seems to cause so many deaths. Sorry... I couldn't help myself.

Last night when I first heard about this story on the news Brian and his uncle were arguing about gun control. Brian's family are all Libertarians and his uncle is the extreme Libertarian. Anyway His uncle was saying that it's our 2nd admendment right to bare arms and that everyone should have a gun. Brian agreed but said there are a few who SHOULD not be allowed to own guns and before owning one you should have to have a permit and pass a test showing you know how to safely use a gun.

They both were going back and forth saying the other one was wrong blah blah blah then the this story came on the news about the woman leaving her kids in the car. They both commented on how stupid she was and Brian grinned and asked his uncle he'd feel comfortable with someone with that little of common sense should be able to own and operate a gun. He had nothing to say....:tounge2:

I found that funny anyways.

Working in a restaurant I see some real winners come in and eat.
I had this couple come and eat a meal while their dogs were in the car windows rolled up car was shut off. I was hot!so I went over to the people and asked if their animals wanted some water since it was so hot outside and they said no! I couldn't believe it! I wanted to just sit there and tell these people that stupid people like them shouldn't be allowed to own animals but I couldn't.
another couple came in during that with dogs in the car also but they had the smarts to leave the car running, with the a/c on. some of them are smart thankfully!

I caught the Southfield, Michigan police chief on TV, this morning. Those kids were 10-months-old and 3-years-old. What kind of idiot leaves kids that age alone, ANYWHERE? There was a cop at the ER, when she brought them in and he said that it was obvious that they had suffered. The little boy was in a puddle of vomit. This broad should get the same treatment, that she gave those kids.

This enfuriates me! I really think she should get the death penalty but if not I'm sure there will be some fellow prison "ladies" that will take care of her. May she eternally rot in the depths of @$#%!

There's a similar case here in Denver. These two people were babysitting a small child, under 2 years old, and left him in the car while they went in a store. I think they said one of the four windows was cracked. Needless to say, they are both now facing charges of murder.

As bad as it was, at least these two were only gone maybe 10 minutes (not justifying their actions, just making comparisons), and they rushed the little boy to the hospital when they found him. To drive around for 3 hours with her dead babies in the car with her...utterly heartless. She should fry - just like she did to her children.

Although I think that sometimes they are going overboard with prosecuting parents for every death of a child (accidents do happen sometimes where no one is at fault, and prosecuting grieving parents who are questioning if they could have saved the child anyway doesn't do much good), this is one case where it is beyond justified. Stupidity doesn't explain what that woman did. A stupid person would have just taken the kids to the hospital, not knowing they were in big trouble (like the case in Denver). She maliciously did this, and her only thought was to save her own a$$.

She has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and child abuse. The penalty, in Michigan, is life without parole. Women who kill their children, do not do well, in prison. She'll get hers.

These people are self-centered igotist who do not think of anyone else except themselves. She should be tried for murder.!!!!!!!