Audrionna Rhoades Charged With Murder In 2-Year-Old Son James Nelson's Death In Hot Car

09/24/2013


A Michigan woman was arrested Monday after the death of her son, who was left for hours in a hot minivan with the windows rolled up earlier this month. Audrionna Rhoades was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on second-degree murder and child negligent abuse charges.

Two-year-old James Nelson was left in a vehicle in a driveway at a mobile home park in Shelby Township, where he lived with his mother, according to Patch.
Her father, Johnny Rhoades, found his grandson around 6 p.m. on Sept. 3, after being alerted by his daughter's roommate, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"I go down there, and he’s dead,” Rhoades told the paper. "He’s in the van, strapped in his frickin’ car seat, sopping wet, blue. My girlfriend tried CPR, but he was dead. The poor baby.”

According to WXYZ-TV, the cause of death was determined to be hyperthermia, or heatstroke. Officials believe Nelson was in the van for the entire day.
Patch reports the child had a temperature of 108 degrees when he was cared for at the hospital. According to the Macomb Daily, the day's temperature reached the mid-70s, but police said the temperature could have quickly risen to 130 degrees inside the van.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, heatstroke inside cars can occur with outside temperatures as low as 57 degrees.

According to the Free Press, authorities claim Rhoades left her son strapped into a car seat in the minivan around 8:30 a.m. before driving to work in another car.

“We believe the evidence demonstrates that the actions of the defendant showed a reckless disregard of the life of her child," Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith told the paper.

According to data from the San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences, there have been at least 30 confirmed heatstroke deaths of children left in cars. Read more about the phenomenon and suggestions for parents and caretakers to help lessen the chance of forgetting a child in a car here.

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May 13, 2014

A 21-year-old Shelby Township woman accused of killing her son by leaving him in a hot van was freed from jail earlier this month after her bond was reduced.

Audrionna Rhoades' bond was lowered May 7 by Judge Jennifer Faunce from $500,000 cash or surety to $50,000/10 percent, meaning Rhoades would have to put up $5,000 to be released from the Macomb County Jail while her case is pending in court.

Her grandmother, Mary Catenacci, said after a hearing in Macomb County Circuit Court that a free Rhoades will allow her to grieve for her 2-year-old son, James Nelson, who died Sept. 3 after being strapped in a vehicle for nine hours.

"I'm thrilled to death," Catenacci said. "I'm so happy."

"It means she's going to go home and be with her family, which is a good thing," added Rhoades' new attorney, Leon Weiss. "When you're in jail it kind of suspends your ability to grieve. You're just trying to survive day to day. ... It was a compassionate ruling."

Rhoades is charged with second-degree murder and leaving a child in a vehicle resulting in death for the incident outside her residence at a mobile home park.

Rhoades and her adult roommate deny placing the boy in the vehicle around 9 a.m. before Rhoades left for work. James was found by the roommate around 6 p.m.

Police say Rhoades made inconsistent statements.

Second-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison; the second charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Rhoades' family retained Weiss, replacing court-appointed attorney Randy Rodnick, who had discussed reaching a plea deal with the possibility of conviction to a lesser charge, manslaughter, which equates to gross negligence and carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

In making her ruling, Judge Faunce commented: "I do think the facts are looking more for negligence rather than intentional" regarding the offender's intent.

Weiss said he would not commit to a defense strategy at this point in the proceedings; he took over the case less than two weeks ago and still has to review some material.

"It's too early to make those decisions," he said of a potential plea deal. "If at some point in the future it's resolved by a plea, so be it. But it's way too early to say if that's going to happen."

As part of bond conditions, Rhoades would have to wear a tether, and be restricted to work, school, and legal and medical appointments.

A pretrial hearing was set for July 2 in the Mount Clemens courtroom.

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February 3, 2015

More than a year ago, Audrionna Rhoades was being held on a half-million dollar bond and charged with second-degree murder in the heatstroke death of her 2-year-old son in a minivan.

Today, she is out on bond and her attorney plans to request that the Shelby Township woman receive probation when she is sentenced March 17 after pleading no contest to a lesser child abuse charge in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Rhoades, 22, entered her plea Monday after Judge Jennifer Faunce dismissed the second-degree murder charge. Rhoades pleaded no contest to child abuse — leaving a child in a vehicle resulting in death, which is a 15-year felony.

"I think that gives her a chance to close the wound ... do some grieving and some healing and move forward," said Rhoades' attorney, Leon Weiss, who is of counsel to the Geoffrey Fieger law firm.

Assistant Prosecutor Bill Cataldo asked for a stay on the plea to appeal, but Faunce denied the motion.

The prosecutor's office is requesting an appeal on the dismissal of the second-degree murder charge.

"We are shocked by the actions of Audrionna Rhoades and believe they meet the statutory elements of second degree murder," Prosecutor Eric Smith wrote in an email.

Rhoades faced both charges after authorities said she buckled her son, James Nelson, into a car seat in a minivan outside her mobile home all day, causing him to die of heatstroke, in September 2013. They said she drove another car to work. Her roommate found the boy in the van about nine hours later, authorities said.

Last year, Faunce reduced Rhoades' bond, allowing her to be released from the county jail, where she was held for months after her son's death. At the time, Faunce said she reviewed the psychological and forensic reports and said she thought the facts look more to negligence versus intentional.

Faunce later allowed Rhoades to be removed from a tether, which Weiss said was expensive for Rhoades and her family.

Weiss filed a motion requesting the charges be dismissed for lack of evidence. The second-degree murder charge was dismissed and after consulting with Weiss, Rhoades decided to enter the no contest plea, eliminating a jury trial.

"She has her own reasons," Weiss said.

When asked if Rhoades put her son in the minivan, Weiss said: "I don't know. I wasn't there." But he said Rhoades had pleaded not guilty and maintained her innocence.

He said he will argue for "straight probation" for Rhoades' sentence, saying she lacks a record and "has been punished emotionally by losing her son."

Weiss said Rhoades has a good family support system, has been compliant in showing up for court, is working full-time in an office and has some supervisory responsibilities, is living quietly and is moving on with her life.

"I think this could be good for her. She's working. She's trying to make something of herself. It's a tragedy. She lost her kid. She loved her kid," Weiss said. "It's been tough. She really loved this kid."


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March 18, 2015

The sentencing of a Shelby Township woman in the death of her 2-year-old son left in a hot minivan was delayed March 17 so prosecutors can appeal dismissal of a second-degree murder charge.

Audrionna Rhoades, 22, was scheduled to be sentenced in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens after pleading no contest to the charge, leaving a child in a vehicle causing death, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. James Nelson died Sept. 3, 2013, after being left in a Dodge Caravan outside Rhoades' mobile home.

But the state Court of Appeal "stayed" the sentencing so it can hear Macomb County prosecutors' appeal of Judge Jennifer Faunce's Feb. 2 dismissal of the murder charge, punishable by up to life in prison. Faunce said Rhoades showed no malice or intent.

Rhoades immediately upon the dismissal pleaded no contest to the lesser charge. A no contest plea serves as an admission of guilt for sentencing purposes but provides some legal protection in civil court.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that second-degree murder includes a defendant creating a high risk of extreme harm or death.

Police say James was placed in the vehicle at Dequindre Estates Mobile Home Park near Dequindre and Hamlin roads around 9 a.m. and was found by Rhoades' roommate around 6 p.m. Temperatures that day were in the mid-70s, and temperatures in the vehicle reached an estimated 130 degrees, police said. The boy's body temperature was 108 degrees, police said.

Police said Rhoades made inconsistent statements.


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