Lanaya Cardwell and Phillip Gardner have been charged with second-degree murder for killing Cardwell’s two-year-old daughter, according to WAFB. Nevaeh Allen was found dead on Sept. 26. The baby had been stuffed into a suitcase and left in the woods in Hancock County, Mississippi.
Nevaeh had been reported missing on Sept. 24. The police report obtained by 9News noted that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is investigating child abuse. According to Gardner, 30, her mother allegedly punched her daughter because she grabbed her contact lenses. He said that Nevaeh fell back into a cabinet.
Cardwell reportedly went to work after her daughter complained her stomach hurt and she wouldn’t eat. After noticing that Neaheh was cold and not responding, Gardner allegedly decided to protect Cardwell and hide the baby.
He said he drove from their home in Baton Rouge, La., to Mississippi and left her in the woods inside the suitcase. Gardner threw the baby’s clothes into a garbage can and drove home. He claimed to have left his phone at home, so his movements weren’t traced.
Investigators said that they aren’t yet sure about how the baby died or who is responsible. Nevaeh’s cause of death was classified as a homicide after an autopsy. The baby’s name is “Heaven,” spelled backward. The autopsy also showed the baby had several bruises on her face, thighs and buttocks. She also had a handprint mark on her face and swelling in her abdomen consistent with a hit.
Cardwell claimed on the news that she didn’t know what had happened to her child. She said the last time she saw her was when she was dropped off at work.
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Cardwell is currently pregnant and was reportedly at work when she was notified her daughter was missing. Gardner initially told investigators that he’d taken a nap, and when he woke up, the baby was gone.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said that both Cardwell and Gardner were charged with second-degree murder for the baby’s death.
“On September 26, an in-depth multi-agency investigation led to the recovery of Nevaeh’s body in a wooded area in Hancock County, Mississippi. Subsequently an autopsy was conducted and it was determined that the cause of death was homicide,” he said. “Today, Baton Rouge Police Department detectives arrested Lanaya Brittany Cardwell, the mother of Nevaeh, and she was charged with second-degree murder.”
Gardner was already being held for obstruction of justice and illegal disposal of a body. The case is still under investigation.
