The mother of the the Portales baby who was left in a hot car while at daycare said she’s happy the trial is over and looks forward to moving on with her daughter, Aubriana.
“We can finally just put it behind us and not have to think about it every day,” said Kristen Ashmore, Aubri’s mom. “I prayed a lot. You have to pray a lot and have to keep your faith.”
She also said the verdict was a relief to hear.
“I was very nervous. It could have very easily gone either way just depending on what the jurors thought about it. So it was a very uneasy feeling,” Ashmore said.
On Tuesday, Sandi and Mary Taylor were convicted of child abuse resulting in death.
In July of 2017, 2-year-old’s Maliyah and Aubri were left in a hot daycare van. The incident killed Maliyah and nearly killed Aubri who was rushed to UMC for treatment.
RELATED STORY: Daycare owners found guilty in death of child in Portales
“Whenever it happened she was kind of a new born baby she couldn’t really walk,” Ashmore said. “She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t hold her head up. She had a G-tube placed in her tummy so we could feed her.”
Today, she said Aubri is a happy and playful 3-year-old.
“She does have some fine motor skill problems and some coordination problems,” Ashmore said. “She doesn’t use her left hand as well as her right hand, but she does PT and OT about two times a week.”
Ashmore said they have since moved to Lubbock where Aubri is in a different daycare, but she said she made sure to double check they were trustworthy.
“They send me videos throughout the day. They’ll send me pictures throughout the day,” Ashmore explains.
“Make sure that they’re doing head counts. If they are traveling with your children and say they’ll have a car seat, make sure they do have a car seat. Have them show you the car seat they’re going to be in.”
