Pre-trial conference pushed back
Mar. 6—SUNBURY — A pre-trial conference for a Watsontown mother accused of causing her 21-month-old child brain damage by leaving her inside a hot car for six hours in 2018 was delayed until a later date in Northumberland County Court on Friday.
Tonia Lee Sones, 27, who represented herself, told President Judge Charles Saylor that she hasn't heard back from the county public defender's office as she seeks legal representation. Chief Public Defender Ed Greco took her contact information and the case was delayed until a later date.
Sones told Milton police she went inside to shower before going to a doctor's appointment on June 1, 2018, according to the documents. She told police her daughter didn't sleep well the night before and had fallen asleep in the back seat when she picked her up from her mother's house, according to troopers.
Troopers said Sones told them she went inside, took a shower and must have fallen asleep before waking up and rushing outside to find her daughter having a seizure. Troopers said temperatures climbed from 71.1 degrees just before 7 a.m. to 82 degrees at 12:54 p.m., with a heat index of 84.9 degrees.
The child turned four on Aug. 23. She is living with her maternal grandmother and will have long-term, lifelong injuries, Assistant District Attorney Julia Skinner, the lead prosecutor in the case, previously said.
