Woman charged with child endangerment after leaving child in car with windows up

Corinna Walker, of Gainesville, is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Aug. 27, in a case in which she’s charged with the class D felony of endangering the welfare of a child involving an incident in April of this year. 

According to the probable cause statement prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Lane, at 1 p.m. April 15, fellow Ozark County Sheriff’s Department officer Sgt. Seth Smith notified him and the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division of a suspected child endangerment incident that occurred at Miller’s Kountry Store in Hardenville the week before. 

Miller reportedly told Lane that Walker would be arriving at the sheriff’s office for an interview with Children’s Division employees and asked if Lane could sit in on the interview so he could ask any follow-up questions that may be needed as part of the investigation. Lane agreed. 

“Sgt. Miller advised he had viewed footage of the female in Miller’s [Store] for 26 minutes while the child was in the vehicle, windows rolled up, vehicle off and unattended while the outside temperature was 76 degrees,” the report said. 

Lane wrote that an online “car temperature calculator” indicated that the inside temperature of the vehicle could have risen to 110 degrees during the time the child was left in the vehicle at that temperature.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. that day, Lane met with Walker in the lobby, and she told the officer that she was there to speak with a Children’s Division worker. After reading off her Miranda Rights, Lane escorted her into the interview area. 

“When asked what had taken place…at Miller’s, Ms. Walker stated when she arrived, she stepped out of her car and smoked a cigarette. When asked where her daughter was during that time, she stated her daughter was in the back seat of the car, buckled into her car seat. 

“Ms. Walker continued…once she finished her cigarette, she pulled her car closer to the front of the store and shut the car off and locked the doors to go inside to pick up a pizza she had ordered. When asked where her daughter was during the time she went inside, she stated she had left her daughter buckled in her seat in the car with the windows up, vehicle off and the doors locked… 

“She said she paid for her pizza and was speaking with one of the workers and went to the ATM to pull money out to try on the slot machine her and the worker were discussing… I asked Ms. Walker if she was able to see her daughter from the location of the slot machine…she stated she didn’t sit at the machine while she played because she was unable to see her daughter if she sat, so she stood close to the machine while she played and periodically would look out the window at her daughter to which she stated was not crying or showing any fussing or uncomfortable signs,” the report says.

Lane asked how long she thought she was in Miller’s Store, and Walker reportedly said “10 to 15 minutes tops.”

If convicted of the class D felony, Walker could face up to 7 years in prison. 

A warrant with a $2,500 bond was originally issued in the case; however, the prosecutor submitted a request to withdraw the warrant and bond and instead sent a summons for her to appear in court at 9 a.m. Aug. 27.