High School Coaches Charged With Murder After Making Teen Run Drills in Heat

Two high school basketball coaches in Georgia have been charged with murder in connection with the death of 16-year-old Imani Bell, who collapsed after running drills during a practice held in nearly 100-degree heat and later died, reports the New York Times. A grand jury in Clayton County indicted LaRosa Maria Walker-Asekere, the head basketball coach at Elite Scholars Academy in Jonesboro, Ga., and Dwight Broom Palmer, the assistant basketball coach, on charges of second-degree murder, cruelty to children, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless conduct.

Tasha Mosley, the Clayton County district attorney said, “The murder charge is second degree and is based on criminal negligence as opposed to malice.” Imani was a junior at Elite Scholars Academy, around 20 miles south of Atlanta. On Aug. 13, 2019, she was running up football stadium steps as part of a practice held in “extreme heat” and collapsed. The temperature at the time was approximately 98 degrees with a heat index temperature between 101 and 106 degrees. An autopsy conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations attributed her death to heat stroke caused by strenuous physical exertion in extreme temperatures.