Chattanooga: Grand jury indicts woman charged with attempted child suffocation

photo Monica Hammers, 41, faces a charge of attempted first degree murder after she allegedly tried to suffocate her 4-year-old son while he was at Erlanger hospital, according to Chattanooga Police Department.

The Hamilton County grand jury has indicted a 42-year-old woman on attempted murder after police say she tried to smother her 4-year-old son.

Monica Dawn Hammers was indicted on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse today.

Police arrested and charged the Smyrna, Tenn., woman after an Erlanger Hospital witness told security officers that Hammers tried to smother her son.

The boy was in the hospital for court-ordered medical testing. He had a broken arm, scheduled to be set, according to an arrest report.

Hammers has been free on a $55,000 bond since the alleged May 6 incident.

The report states that the boy began to cry, Hammers told him to shut up and put a pillow over his face for five to six seconds. She removed the pillow and ran into the hospital bathroom when she realized someone saw her.

The boy has been placed in protective custody.

Hammers is scheduled to appear in Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman's courtroom on July 15 for her arraignment.

For further details see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.

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