In a chilling case awaiting trial in Louisiana, a mother has refused a plea deal offered by prosecutors over allegations surrounding the tragic death of her young daughter. The trial, set to begin early next year, involves Lanaya Cardwell, 28, who is facing a charge of second-degree murder following the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Allen. Cardwell rejected a plea bargain that would have sentenced her to a maximum of ten years for cruelty to juveniles, as reported by Baton Rouge’s ABC affiliate, WBRZ.

Despite the incident occurring over two years ago, the harrowing details continue to echo in public consciousness. On September 4, 2021, Nevaeh was at home with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Phillip Gardner, aged 34. According to arrest warrants acquired by The Advocate, a local newspaper, the tragedy was set in motion when Nevaeh damaged her mother’s contact lens while Cardwell was getting ready for work.

The warrants detail how Cardwell allegedly became enraged, striking the toddler in the torso with a closed fist. This blow reportedly caused Nevaeh to fall and hit her head on a bathroom cabinet. Gardner, who was present, recalled hearing sounds from the other room that resembled a fight between adults, although he could not see the events unfold. When Nevaeh emerged, she bore a noticeable bruise on her forehead.

In a shocking turn of events, Gardner, instead of seeking emergency help, allegedly attempted CPR and then took drastic actions. He purportedly placed Nevaeh’s lifeless body into a small suitcase, left his cellphone behind, and drove with other children to Mississippi. There, he is accused of burying the child in a makeshift grave deep within the woods, as outlined in court documents.

Cardwell proceeded to drag the child to another room, the warrants — citing alleged recollections from Gardner — stated, with the man saying he couldn’t see what transpired in the other room but it sounded “like two adults fighting.” Soon after, Nevaeh came out with a large bruise on her forehead.

The child was clearly hurt, according to the court documents also reported on by local CBS affiliate WAFB. While her mother was at work, Nevaeh is said to have complained to Gardner about stomach pains and would not eat. The man told police that he went to sleep and that when he woke up later that day, he found her unconscious.

Gardner reportedly said he tried to perform CPR — but then sprung into a different sort of action. Instead of calling 911, he admitted to stuffing the child’s body into a “small suitcase,” leaving his cellphone at home, and driving to Mississippi with other children in the car, where he made a “makeshift grave deep in the woods” and put the child there, per the court documents.

He then allegedly threw Nevaeh’s clothes in the garbage and drove home to file a “false missing persons report.” It is unclear whether Gardner and Cardwell communicated in this time period about what had transpired.

The Baton Rouge Police Department reported arriving to the couple’s home on the 12600 block of La Belle Ave in response to the “missing” child. A search was launched for Nevaeh, and as it proceeded, one of her siblings said she was “in the forest,” though no one knew what that meant at the time, according to WBRZ.

Two days after her killing, on Sept. 26, 2021, the child’s body was found in a “wooded area” in Hancock County, Mississippi.

An autopsy was conducted, finding “several bruises on the girl’s face and head, swelling to the brain and marks on her face ‘consistent with that of a handprint,’” per The Advocate. “The girl’s thighs and buttocks were covered in bruises. The coroner reportedly also observed injuries on the girl’s abdominal wall, ‘which were consistent with being punched in the abdomen.’”

The affidavit added that a forensic pathologist told police “it cannot be ruled out that the victim was still alive at the time that Gardner placed her in the suitcase and suffocated to death prior to succumbing to the other injuries.” Cardwell and Gardner were both charged with second-degree murder less than a week after the child was killed.

As Law&Crime previously reported, Cardwell spoke publicly about her child’s claimed disappearance the very day the crimes transpired.

“I don’t know what could have happened; I don’t know what went wrong. I wish I would have stayed home from work,” Cardwell said in an apparently emotional interview with a reporter — as kids stand and play behind her. “This morning I woke up, me and the fam went to the store … Naveah, the little girl, my little boy, and her daddy brought me to work, and that’s the last time I seen my baby.”

Gardner was convicted last week of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to life in prison.

After Gardner’s trial, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore reflected on the case.

“This trial took an emotional toll on all people involved, especially the family of Nevaeh Allen, who miss the bubbly and beautiful child she was,” Moore said, per local NBC affiliate WVLA. “We are grateful to the jury who spent nearly two weeks exercising the utmost care and diligence. This case was clearly emotional to the jurors who heard these facts. Nothing can bring back this child who was murdered, but justice is done when those responsible for Nevaeh’s death are held accountable for their crimes.”

Cardwell’s trial is expected to begin on Feb. 2. She faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.