A lesbian couple has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of a 4-year-old Baltimore boy. Police say when Malachi Lawson’s mother, Alicia Lawson, reported him missing, she knew he was dead all along.
Lawson, 25, reported her son missing from his grandmother’s house last week. Police say she changed her story before confessing he was dead.
Malachi’s body was later found in a dumpster. His cause of death was not disclosed.
“It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you this Saturday afternoon,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at a news conference. “We have a development in the case of 4-year-old Malachi Lawson. Last night, after extensive interviews with Malachi’s mother, Alicia Lawson confessed that her son was not missing, but deceased.”
Police arrested Lawson and her domestic partner, 40-year-old Shakita Lawson. They were charged with neglect resulting in the death of a minor, first-degree child abuse, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and making false statements, according to CBS 13 in Baltimore.
The women could face additional charges when the investigation is completed.