The woman accused of leaving her two children unattended in a hot car in which they died in waived her rights for a preliminary hearing on Thursday. The two charges of especially aggravated child abuse will be sent to a grand jury for a possible indictment.

25-Year old Samantha Harper told Smyrna Police on August 2nd that she put her two young children in her car then went inside her home and fell asleep. The children, ages 2 and 3, later died of a heat stroke due to the excessive heat in the vehicle.  

The public defender for Harper says that his client is innocent and that the incident was an accident.

The only run in with the law Harper had in the past was a child neglect report filed against her last year by LaVergne Police. That report generated a referral to the Department of Children’s Services.