From mother to murderer?
<p>'Skylar is our light and we are going to continue to let her shine...'</p>
TUCKER, Ga. – Dijanelle Fowler called her big sister the day she found out she was pregnant with her daughter, Skylar. Together, the two cried – one in Georgia, one in New Jersey. The mutual excitement exuded through their phone lines.
Those are the memories Danielle Smith, who identified herself as Dijanelle’s older sister, cherishes since her niece died and her sister was charged with her murder.
Building on a future in the south
Smith, who said she raised her sister, recalled that now-25-year-old Dijanelle, of East Orange, N.J., was a high school honor student and played basketball from the time she could hold a ball.
“We had to rough growing up, but we made the best of it. It's not easy reading things about my baby sister even though she is grown now,” she said.
Dijanelle, she said, left home to attend Charleston State University. That's where she got pregnant and had Skylar Dianne Fowler last year.
May 24, 2016
Smith remembers easily because it’s also their mother’s birthday--Dijanelle went into labor and introduced Skylar into the world.
“The look on my sister face was priceless,” she gushed. “Skylar, not even being 5 minutes old... my sister was talking about her prom.”
“She loves Skylar, as we all do,” Smith said.
PHOTOS: Child dies after being left in car
Dijanelle had recently moved to Atlanta to build on that future for her and her daughter. She was training to be a teacher, Smith said.
May 24, 2017
One year later, the family celebrated Skylar’s first birthday.
Photos show nothing but smiles beaming from person to person, including Smith, Skylar and Dijanelle.
Dressed in full princess garb, donning a yellow, satin gown with a light, tulle overlay, Skylar was all dolled up for her celebration.
A yellow flower adorned the top of her dress and a large white bow held her short curly hair back, revealing a sparkle—her stud earrings.
The tiny tot is seen in photos smashing pink cake into her face with both hands – icing oozing between her chunky fingers and plastering her face from chin to forehead.
“My sister is a loving person. Always about family gatherings and food. She loves to eat and Skylar did too,” Smith remembered.
An ending not fit for a princess
Thursday, June 15
10:06 a.m.
Dijanelle arrived at Mahogany’s Salon in the Northlake Festival shopping plaza in Tucker, Ga., to get her hair done.
She left her car running with the air conditioner on blast. Skylar still inside, according to police.
“We never suspected that the baby was in the car,” Paulette, who owns the salon, said.
In business for more than a decade—Paulette, who did not want to reveal her last name, was there the day Dijanelle stepped inside her shop.
“It was a normal day,” she recalled. “She was getting her hair done and I even spoke to the lady.”
There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to her about Dijanelle, she said.
“There wasn't anything nervous about her,” she said. “If we knew this was going on, the baby was out in the car, we would have intervened immediately.”
But as the day progressed, Skylar would succumb to the intense Georgia heat.
3:52 p.m.
Surveillance video showed Dijanelle getting into her car, six hours after she went inside the salon. Police said she had left the car running, but it turned off before she came out.
According to the arrest warrant, Dijanelle solicited assistance from a man inside the salon to jump-start her car.
At that point, police believe the child was already dead in the back seat. The warrant stated that Dijanelle may have placed clothes over the Skylar's body to conceal her death from the man helping her.
Between 4 p.m. and 4:54 p.m.
She texted the child's godfather and said she was going to urgent care for headaches, DeKalb County Police spokesman, Lt. Lonzy Robertson, said.
4:54 p.m.
Fowler arrived at Emory Physicians and called 911, claiming to have a seizure.
When Emory Police responded to the parking lot, they found Skylar dead in the back seat.
“While she was being treated for that ailment there was also a child in the backseat of that car unresponsive,” DeKalb County Police Capt. Jerry A. Lewis said.
Dijanelle was taken to the hospital for treatment and was released later that night.
Upon her release, Robertson said, Dijanelle fled the state.
Investigators obtained warrants for her arrest and she turned herself in Monday night.
Dijanelle was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children and concealing a death and remains in the DeKalb County Jail.
"I don't believe it was intentional," Lewis said. "It seems that it was an accident. However, with that in mind. There's consequences that come with that."
MORE | Police: Child died in hot car while mother was in hair salon
Friday, June 23
“Skylar is our light and we are going to continue to let her shine,” Smith said of her niece.
Visitation and funeral services were held at the Calvary Church of God in Christ, Jeff Circle, S.C. Skylar was buried at Howe Hall Cemetery, in Goose Creek, S.C.