Nevaeh Allen’s mother and stepfather were arrested and charged with murder Wednesday after her remains were found in Mississippi and police have revealed new details surrounding her death.
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On the day of her daughter’s alleged disappearance, Lanaya Cardwell claimed she was getting ready for work and said that was the last time she saw Neveah before she went missing. However, it was revealed in the arrest report as told by Philip Gardner that his stepdaughter grabbed Cardwell’s contact lenses while she was getting ready for work. Moments later, Cardwell reportedly became upset and punched the two-year-old girl in the stomach with a closed fist which caused her to fall and hit her head on the cabinet.
Gardner continued to say that Allen was crying and had a bruise on her forehead but decided to take Cardwell to work then returned home with his stepdaughter. The two-year-old started to complain about stomach pain and refused to eat when offered food. Later on, Allen laid down on a couch and was found unresponsive. Gardner confessed to performing CPR but deciding not to contact 911 and left his cell phone at home so he wouldn’t be tracked by police before dumping her body.
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The girl’s remains were placed in a suitcase and Gardner placed it in his vehicle then drove to Mississippi to dump her remains and threw out the suitcase plus her clothes in a trashcan.
Gardner and Cardwell were arrested and charged with second-degree murder in addition to unlawful disposal of human remains and obstruction of justice. Cardwell is also reportedly pregnant with Gardner’s child, police said.
SOURCE: WAFB