Dacia Lacey was arrested for neglect of a dependent causing death after her 2-month-old died in August 2022.
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis mother is on trial for the death of her 2-month-old daughter.
The key witness is the mother’s other daughter, who was just 3 years old when the baby died.
Dacia Lacey is charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Police believe she was tired and high on meth and smothered her baby Alona because she would not stop crying.
The 911 call Lacey made on the morning of Aug. 29, 2022, was played in court Monday.
Operator: “Marion County 911, where’s the location of your emergency?”
Lacey: “Oh my god! Oh my God! My baby is dead! My newborn baby is dead!”
The baby was dead when first responders arrived at the house on Burton Avenue near Riverside Park on the near northwest side of Indianapolis.
The evidence presented Monday included a video where Lacey used a baby doll to reenact for investigators how she claimed she put the baby in a rocking swing with a bottle and laid down to sleep.
But in the courtroom, her other daughter, now almost 5 years old, testified, “Mom was mad, hit the baby with a pillow and put the pillow on her face.”
The little girl told other family the same story shortly after the baby died.
Jennifer Armstrong is the fiancée of Dacia Lacey’s father, David Lacey. The little girl came to stay with her and David after the incident where the Alona Lacey died.
“She said my mommy got really mad at her because she wouldn’t stop crying,” Armstrong testified. “And she held a pillow on her face and hit her with it. And I’m like, ‘What? Like, what did you just say?'”
Armstrong asked the little girl to repeat herself and recorded a video of the girl telling the story. That led to criminal charges. The video was shown in court on Monday.
David Lacey broke down on the witness stand before testifying that his granddaughter told him the same story months later.
“Papaw, I seen my mommy take a pillow and put it over the baby’s face to get her to stop crying,” David said.
But the defense argues Dacia Lacey was just an exhausted mother taking care of three children aged 3 and under who woke up to find her baby dead.
“The evidence will leave this court with a lot of questions and not a lot of answers,” said defense attorney Courtney Benson-Kooy. “And the reason that this court will have a lot of questions is because this is a tragic accident with no real explanation.”
This is a bench trial, with Judge Mark Stoner deciding the verdict and sentence. Testimony resumes Tuesday morning. The judge is expected to review a three-hour video of a police interview with Lacey on his own outside the courtroom. Closing arguments will likely be scheduled for a later day.
A toxicology report showed that Lacey tested positive for methamphetamine in her system.
She faces a 20- to 40-year sentence if convicted.
This article was originally published by a www.wthr.com . Read the Original article here. .