SOUTHFIELD, MI — A mother accused of leaving her children to die inside her sweltering car while she went to have her hair done has been charged with first-degree murder.
Tarajee Maynor, 25, of Detroit, remained jailed without bond early Monday. She faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. |
The kids were left alone in her black compact car for more than three hours. |
"We treat animals better than that," said Southfield police Chief Joseph Thomas. "It's our full intention to put her behind bars for the rest of her natural life."
"This is a hideous crime, a horrific crime," Thomas said.
Maynor was arraigned Sunday before District Court Magistrate Eugene Friedman on two counts each of first-degree murder and felony child abuse.
"The image of her sitting in that salon, getting her hair done, while they were suffering makes me sick." |
The Southfield magistrate ordered her held without bond at the Oakland County Jail.
Maynor, who is due back in court on July 10, was not represented by an attorney. |
Thomas said the windows on the car, a Dodge Neon, were rolled up when the children were left. He said Maynor's hair appointment apparently took longer than expected.
The weather was sunny on Friday afternoon, with afternoon highs in the 80s, according to the National Weather Service. The temperature inside a parked car likely would be much hotter because of the greenhouse effect. |
She first told police she had been abducted, raped, then returned to her car. |
She later changed her story, telling police that she stopped to have her hair done about 4:20 p.m. and left the children. When she returned more than three hours later, she found them dead, police said.