CLAYTON County, Ga. (CBS46) — A grand jury has handed down murder charges for two Clayton County high school basketball coaches.
Larosa Walker-Asekere and Dwight Palmer are charged with involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children, reckless conduct, and second-degree murder for the death of 16-year-old Imani Bell.
Bell died after conditioning with her basketball team at Elite Scholars Academy.
“If you’re wondering why second-degree murder, it’s because it was a murder that was done in commission of another felony, which was the cruelty to children charge,” said attorney Justin Miller.
Friday will mark exactly two years since Bell collapsed and died.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” her father Eric Bell told reporters.
With the heat index surpassing 100 degrees on August 14th, 2019, Bell was conditioning outside at Elite Scholars Academy, running up stadium steps, when she collapsed.
An autopsy revealed she died of heat-related cardiac arrest and had no underlying health conditions.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time in history in a case like this that murder charges have been brought against the coaches who were negligent,” said Miller.
Attorneys argue that not only was conditioning held in excessive heat, it was held earlier in the season than permitted by the Georgia High School Association.
At a press conference Wednesday, reporters were told that Walker-Asekere’s attorney is placing blame elsewhere.
“Coach Asekere’s lawyers put out a statement saying Walker-Asekere faults the athletic director and Elite Scholars Academy personnel,” said attorney Chris Stewart. “So clearly this case is bigger than just the two coaches, which is why we filed the civil suit.”
Stewart said attorneys for the Clayton County school district continue to defend the school against the civil suit, but he believes the recent indictments could help move it along.
“Imani Bell’s name will now stand for change in sports across this country,” he said.
Bell’s father called the charges “refreshing.”
“I can use the term bittersweet. We were also happy the DA brought forth the charges and held the coaches accountable.
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