Three daycare employees in Memphis, Tennessee, have been charged following the death of 6-year-old Winter Jones, a child who authorities say was left inside a daycare bus for hours on a scorching August day.

Winter was found inside a vehicle outside Kid University on Aug. 13 and was later pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital. Her father, Bryan Jones, later said that his daughter’s internal body temperature had reached 109 degrees.

Nearly a month after her death, prosecutors announced that three employees had been indicted in connection with the case.

Tametria Norry, the bus driver; Sabrina Powe, an assistant director at Kid University; and Amilya Hardin, an assistant at the daycare, were each charged with aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide, and destruction of and tampering with governmental records, according to reports cited by PEOPLE.

The charges represent a significant development in a case that has devastated Winter’s family and raised serious questions about safety procedures at the daycare center.

According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, Winter arrived at Kid University on the morning of Aug. 13.

Staff were supposed to transport her to Macon Hall Elementary School.

Instead, prosecutors say, Winter remained inside the daycare vehicle after it returned to Kid University.

She was not discovered until approximately 3 p.m. that afternoon.

By the time police officers and emergency medical personnel responded, the 6-year-old was in critical condition. She was transported to a hospital but did not survive.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services later conducted a fatality inspection at Kid University.

According to the district attorney’s office, inspectors identified multiple alleged failures involving transportation procedures.

Required vehicle checks were reportedly not completed after children were unloaded. Transportation logs were not accurately filled out, and required walk-throughs meant to confirm that every child had exited the vehicle were allegedly not conducted.

Those procedures exist precisely to prevent tragedies like the one that happened to Winter.

For her family, the fact that such basic safeguards may not have been followed has made the loss even harder to understand.

At a news conference on Sept. 10, Winter’s parents spoke publicly about their daughter’s death for the first time.

Her father, Bryan Jones, described the loss as an “absolute nightmare.”

He said he had imagined a future in which he would watch his daughter grow up, continue progressing and one day reach milestones that many parents take for granted.

“As a father, I won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. I won’t become a grandfather,” he said, according to reports cited by PEOPLE.

Bryan also explained that Winter had been diagnosed with autism and had been making progress.

That detail has become especially important to the family’s understanding of what happened.

An attorney representing the family said Winter was unable to effectively communicate when she needed help.

“She was placed on the bus by these people, who promised to keep her safe, and that promise was broken,” attorney Taurus Bailey said while reading a prepared statement on the family’s behalf.

Winter’s mother, Nakia Cloman, also recalled the devastating phone call she received from the daycare.

She said someone from the facility told her that Winter had been left on the bus and was “barely breathing.”

Cloman said she immediately began screaming.

By the time she arrived at the hospital, her daughter was gone.

The mother has since said she does not want another child to become a headline before meaningful changes are made.

Her words have turned the family’s grief into a broader call for accountability.

The criminal case is only one part of what is expected to follow.

The family’s attorneys have said they also intend to pursue a civil case in Winter’s memory. Attorney Walter Bailey said employees at the daycare were being investigated over what he described as numerous violations of childcare protocols.

Kid University has since permanently closed.

According to reports cited by PEOPLE, owner Dr. Raven Marshall-Lewis surrendered the daycare facility’s license following the incident.

The closure does not bring Winter back, but it marks a dramatic consequence for the facility where her final hours were spent.

Cases involving children left in hot vehicles are particularly tragic because the danger can escalate rapidly.

Inside a closed vehicle, temperatures can become dangerously high even when outdoor conditions do not initially seem extreme. Young children are especially vulnerable because their bodies heat up much faster than adults’ bodies.

In Winter’s case, however, the allegations are not about a momentary mistake.

Authorities say she remained inside the daycare vehicle for hours after the morning transportation run had ended.

That timeline is now central to the criminal allegations against the three employees.

Still, it is important to distinguish between accusations and proven guilt.

Norry, Powe and Hardin have been indicted and charged, but the charges remain allegations unless and until they are proven in court.

The legal process will now examine the roles each employee allegedly played, what transportation procedures were or were not followed, and how official records were handled after the incident.

The records-related charges also suggest investigators are scrutinizing more than the failure to find Winter on the bus.

According to prosecutors, the investigation also concerns whether transportation documentation accurately reflected what happened that day.

For Winter’s family, however, the legal details are only part of the story.

Their daughter was six years old.

She had a personality, a future and a family that expected to watch her grow.

Instead, they are now speaking at news conferences, meeting with attorneys and preparing for court proceedings.

That contrast was clear in Bryan Jones’ comments.

He did not speak only about the way Winter died.

He spoke about everything he believed she should have been able to experience.

He imagined walking her down the aisle.

He imagined becoming a grandfather.

He imagined watching his daughter continue making progress.

Those ordinary hopes have now become reminders of what his family lost.

The case has also renewed questions about how childcare facilities account for every child during transportation.

A vehicle walk-through, an accurate log and a final head count can seem like small administrative tasks.

In cases like Winter’s, however, they can mean the difference between life and death.

That is why the Tennessee Department of Human Services findings are likely to receive close attention as both the criminal and potential civil cases move forward.

For Winter’s mother, the goal now reaches beyond accountability for her own daughter.

She wants the tragedy to force people to take child safety seriously before another family receives the same kind of phone call.

“I don’t want another child to become a headline before people decide that something needs to change,” she said.

Three employees now face serious criminal charges.

The daycare has closed permanently.

A civil case is expected.

But none of those developments can change the central fact behind the investigation: Winter Jones went to daycare on an August morning and never came home.

For her family, the fight ahead is about more than a prosecution.

It is about making sure the 6-year-old at the center of the case is remembered not simply as the child left inside a hot bus, but as a daughter whose life, progress and future mattered.