A Baltimore mother and her partner have been charged with manslaughter after the 4-year-old Malachi Lawson's body was found in a dumpster over the weekend.
Alicia Lawson and her partner, Shatika Lawson, were both denied bail in a bond hearing on Monday.
Baltimore police had been searching for Malachi since Thursday. On Saturday morning, the boy's body was found in a dumpster.
According to a police investigation, the boy suffered severe burns when his mother and her partner gave him a bath on July 23.
"They could see skin from his body floating in the water after they pulled him from the bath tub," investigation documents said.
The Lawsons chose not to seek treatment for Malachi's wounds because they feared the boy would be taken away from them by Child Protective Services, according to the police investigation. The couple reportedly had a history with the agency.
The couple tried to treat the boy on their own for nine days. On Aug. 1, Alicia Lawson told police she awoke to find the boy unresponsive.
On Aug. 3, Alicia Lawson allegedly called a Lyft and took the boy's body to a nearby dumpster, where it was found soon after. FBI agents say she also made an internet search for trash collections sites on her phone the day she discovered her son was dead.
An autopsy revealed that Malachi suffered severe burns to his entire lower body.
Investigators visited the home and tested the water in the bathtub, but found the water never got hotter than lukewarm. In court, Shakita Lawson's lawyer argued that the couple had asked their landlord to fix the hot water in the bathtub after Malachi had been injured.
Both Baltimore women are charged with 11 counts, including involuntary manslaughter and first-degree child abuse resulting in death, which carries a possible life sentence.
This story was originally published by Khalida Volou on
WMAR
in Baltimore.
