A tragic case has emerged from the Midwest, where a mother and her boyfriend are facing serious charges after allegedly confining her special needs child in a basement closet for extended periods, resulting in his untimely death.
Angel Lovely, a 37-year-old resident of Beech Grove, along with her partner Nicholas Bergdoll, also 37, from Indianapolis, have been formally charged following the death of four-year-old Malichi Allen Lovely. The young boy, who had cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus, was found unresponsive on March 23, according to statements made to the police by the accused couple.
Reports reveal that Malichi’s siblings informed investigators about their brother’s frequent confinement in a closet located beneath the basement stairs. They disclosed that the closet was sometimes locked, effectively trapping Malichi inside. This disturbing detail was highlighted by WTHR 13.
The siblings also shared harrowing accounts of neglect, noting that their mother, Angel Lovely, appeared indifferent to Malichi’s needs and would sometimes wear headphones to drown out his cries. Such behavior reportedly left the child without proper care or attention.
On the day of Malichi’s death, one sibling recalled hearing him gagging inside the closet. Later, they found him with blood in his mouth, his head unnaturally tilted back. This heartbreaking scenario underscores the severe neglect and tragic circumstances surrounding the young boy’s death.
One of the children told investigators they heard Malichi, who is fed through a tube, gagging inside the closet the day he died. The other said when they next saw the boy, he had blood in his mouth and his head was rolled back.
Bergdoll allegedly said he had seen the boy around 7am, but admitted he had neglected to check on the boy throughout the day.
The boyfriend also allegedly told investigators that he didn’t agree with putting Malichi in the closet, but that it was not his place to ‘f**king tell [Angel] how to raise her kid,’ WTHR 13 reported.
Malichi Lovely, four, died on March 23. He was found unresponsive in a basement closet at his mother’s home
Angel Lovely, 37, of Beech Grove, and Nicholas Bergdoll, 37, of Indianapolis, were arrested in connections with Malichi’s death
The mother told police that she had placed the boy in the closet around 7am to sleep, claiming the child had been awake for days. She claimed to have checked on him sometime in the morning before she was later woken up by one of her children, telling her something was wrong with Malichi.
Lovely also admitted she had not refilled Malichi’s seizure medication and acknowledged he was underweight. He weighed 22 pounds at the time of his death.
His autopsy is pending.
Malichi had previously been placed in foster care in 2024 due to medical neglect, court documents said.
Despite social workers strongly discouraging the court from allowing Malichi to return to Lovely, she was granted full custody in 2025, WTHR 13 reported.
Police later issued a search warrant, where investigators claimed the house was ‘unkempt and dirty’ with unwashed dishes and dirt-covered floors. The house also had a strong smell of cat litter, body odor, and dirty socks, the outlet said.
‘Children depend on the adults in their lives for protection and care, and in this instance, this child was failed by the accused,’ Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.
‘The allegations in this case are absolutely devastating.’
The boy suffered a myraid of medical diagnosis, including cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus
Lovely’s other children told investigators that their mother often neglected Malichi and put him in the closet frequently
The toddler weighed 22 pounds at the time of his death and his mother allegedly admitted to investigator the Malichi was underwent
Lovely was charged with two level-one felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
Bergdoll was charged with two counts of level-three felony neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.
Malichi’s father, Alexander Schmidt, 35, took to Facebook to post a tribute for his youngest, writing: ‘I’m sorry, Malichi. I feel like I failed you. I stayed silent for too long, and it cost you. I won’t stay silent anymore.
‘I made a promise to Angel that I would never try to separate her from the kids as long as they were safe and cared for. But now, after everything that has happened, I refuse to let anything happen to your siblings.’
Schmidt and Lovely had a turbulent relationship that was constantly on and off, he told the Indy Star. He accused the mother of often taking off with the children.
‘I wanted a relationship with my kids, and the only way I could was to stay in her good graces,’ he told the outlet.
Halfway through her pregnancy with Malichi, their third child together, she allegedly cut off Schmidt. Malichi was born at 34 weeks, and Schmidt said he didn’t see his son for the first two years of his life.
Once child services got involved, Schmidt got a chance to finally meet his son in the hospital.
Lovely had lost custody of her children once before, but was regranted full custody in 2025. Bergdoll told investigators he didn’t agree with Lovely putting Malichi in the closet, but it wasn’t he place to tell her what to do with her children
The family remembers the boy as a smiley child
The family grieves the loss of the boy, who they said in his obituary: ‘He was more than a headline, more than a case, more than a name on paper. Malichi was our baby’
The boy’s biological father, Alexander Schmidt, said he found out about his son’s death when Lovely’s mugshot popped up on the news
‘Even between his tremors, he would smile. You can tell he was in pain, though. It’s hard to think about,’ he told the outlet.
Schmidt took Lovely to court for custody, but he lost. He was only offered supervised visits with Malichi and his daughter Lilith and had to pay $25 a week in child support, he told the outlet.
After she gained back custody, Lovely allegedly did not allow Schmidt to see his children.
Schmidt found out about his son’s death when Lovely’s mugshot popped up in the news.
He immediately called Malichi’s former foster parent, saying: ‘I didn’t want her to learn the same way I did if she watched the news, so I told her.’
The family grieves the loss of the boy, who they said in his obituary: ‘He was more than a headline, more than a case, more than a name on paper. Malichi was our baby.
‘Though his time here was brief, his life mattered deeply.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to the parents for comment.
