Kelly Pittman
The mother of the three-year-old boy who killed himself with a pistol waived her rights Monday morning to a pretrial hearing.
Kelly Pittman, 26, was arrested last week following the horrific death of her son. She was charged with criminally negligent homicide and child endangerment.
On Feb. 29, three-year-old Gavin Pittman squirmed out of his car seat to the front seat of the family minivan and opened the unlocked glove compartment. According to Detective Mickey Rountree, the mother had just arrived to her home with her children and had stepped outside the van to continue a phone call.
Meanwhile, Gavin located and picked up a loaded Taurus .380 caliber pistol. He shot himself in the face, with the bullet exiting his skull.
The two other small children in the van sat through the devastating event.
Ms. Pittman told police she heard a “pop” while on the phone and found her son shot himself. She called 911 then rendered aid to Gavin until paramedics arrived.
She told police she had the gun for protection and usually kept the glove compartment locked. She did not know why it was unlocked at this particular time.
The mother’s arrest warrant said Ms. Pittman “exposed her son to a situation that endangered him by leaving him unattended inside a vehicle with a loaded firearm and that exposure adversely affected his health.”
On Monday morning she appeared before General Sessions Court Judge Lila Statom, draped in jail clothing. Prosecutor Cameron Williams and defense attorney Dan Ripper stood ready to argue both sides of the case.
But because Ms. Pittman waived her rights to a preliminary hearing, her charges will go straight to the Grand Jury.
She is booked at the Hamilton County Jail with a bond of $500,000.