A mother accused of killing her toddler will possibly face the death penalty if convicted.
Erica Lawson, 21, of Mt. Vernon, was originally arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter but she was later indicted by a Bell County Grand Jury on a murder charge. Lawson was also indicted for first-degree criminal abuse (victim under the age of 12), failure to report child abuse and felony wanton endangerment.
Lawson was arrested after her 17-month-old girl, Elena, was taken to Middlesboro Appalachian Regional Hospital on July 28 before being airlifted to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. The toddler died there two days later.
Bell County Commonwealth Attorney Lisa Fugate earlier this week announced her intention to file a Notice of Aggravating Circumstances in the case, which would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty “for what she did to Baby Elena,” Fugate wrote in a social media post.
“In my time with the commonwealth, this is one of the most severe cases of abuse, specifically because that baby is 17-months-old …,” Middlesboro Police Department investigator Caley Ayers told WBIR.com at the time of Lawson’s arrest.
The toddler’s uncle reported the case of abuse to police in July, but according to Middlesboro Police Chief Petie Gilbert, officers were never able to locate the child, WVLT.com reports.
She is being held in the Bell County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond.
(Photo l-r: Erica Lawson, Elena)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
