Mom of baby who died in car released from jail
Mom faces charges of negligent homicide after leaving son in car
Astrid Galvan, Amanda Wible and Teana Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 1, 2007 09:14 AM
Ashly V. Duchene was released from jail on Wednesday at approximately 10:15 p.m. and transported to an unknown location for medical related issues, according to Det. Charles Scubella of the Maricopa County Sheriff's office.
She remains under medical supervision by the Maricopa County Sheriff's office as of Thursday morning.
Just one day before 17-month-old Ryan Gallagher died after his mother left him in a car outside the Hooters restaurant where she worked, his father, Clayton Gallagher, asked to take full custody of the boy, a court document shows. advertisement
Duchene, 22, who was arrested about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of negligent homicide in the death of her son, remained in a Maricopa County jail late Wednesday while family members waited for hours, expecting her release.
The relatives refused to comment about the death of the boy, who had been left in the car for seven hours. His mother told police she forgot to drop him off at day care.
Court records show Clayton Gallagher had spoken on the phone with Duchene for 1 1/2 hours the day before Ryan's death. She told him that she "couldn't do it anymore" and she didn't want Ryan around because he cried so much. She also couldn't stand not seeing him every day and rebuffed Gallagher's offer to take him.
Court documents and police painted a picture of a troubled 22-year-old who did not make her son a priority. But one friend disputed that image, calling Duchene a "wonderful" mother who recently had a lot going on in her life.
Court documents say that Duchene had attempted suicide at least once, and Phoenix spokesman Sgt. Joel Tranter said interviews with family members and close friends revealed that Duchene was an unhappy mother. Those close to Duchene said she wanted her freedom and did not make the child a priority.
Duchene told authorities that on Monday she almost forgot Ryan in the car but remembered he was there before going to work. Ryan, she said, had been in his grandfather's care for a few weeks and she was out of the habit of dropping him at day care.
Ken Elliot, a regular at Hooters, was close with Duchene and Ryan.
"She's wonderful, and she's a wonderful mother," Elliot said.
Elliot has frequented the restaurant for the past decade and said Duchene was his favorite waitress.
He cried as he recounted discovering the baby and told of how he and witnesses laid Ryan in the bed of one man's truck and tried to keep the waitresses and Duchene from seeing the baby until authorities arrived.
Elliot said Duchene was so devoted to her son that after the two had been separated for a few weeks, she took a day off to be with her little boy.
He added that Duchene had been working long hours to help pay bills and support her current boyfriend (not Gallagher), who was injured in a motorcycle accident and out of work for the past month.
On Wednesday, Elliot, several other regular customers, and many of Duchene's co-workers talked to members of the Phoenix Fire Department Crisis Response Team.
"I think it's harder on me than a lot of the girls," Elliot said. "He was like my great-grandson."
Melanie Gulmetti, regional marketing manager for all Hooters restaurants in Arizona, said the company was deeply saddened by the tragedy and Duchene had been a waitress at Hooters for 2 1/2 years and was well liked by co-workers
2007-11-15 08:46:04
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answer #1
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answered by pensk8r 4
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It seems like the father had a daughter that he killed by leaving her in a hot car:
Two parents, Ashly Duchene and Kyle Brown, will not be prosecuted after two different grand juries failed to return indictments against them. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office in Arizona had been pushing for child abuse charges.
Both of the deceased children were just three months old. Brown's daughter died after he accidentally left her in a parked car for two hours last June. Duchene alleged she thought she had taken her son to daycare before her 7-hour waitressing shift.
2014-08-08 11:42:57
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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They hadn't charged her when the story broke, and according to a tag paragraph at the end of the article, the mother in a similar incident was never charged. If they thought it was deliberate, I'm sure that would change.
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/1030baby1031-CP.html
2007-11-15 08:12:43
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answer #4
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answered by Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever 7
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