AVEION MALIK LEWIS - 2 yo (2010) - Roanoke VA

Jury hears police interview recording in Lockett trial
By: SCOTT LEAMON
Published: October 12, 2011
Updated: October 12, 2011 - 6:36 PM

6:30 p.m.

Morgan Lockett sat seemingly unfazed during the morning session of her first degree murder trial.

Lockett showed little emotion as jurors listened to an interview police recorded in late February 2010, a few days before her arrest.

In the interview, two detectives can be heard asking Lockett dozens of questions about the overall health of her two-year-old son, Aveion Lewis.

After a lunch break however, tears began streaming down Lockett's face.

Jurors heard a detective ask her point blank if she threw her son's body in the trash.

Police found Aveion Lewis's body a few weeks after he was reported missing.

Investigators recovered the body in a landfill.

Lockett can be heard crying, then telling investigators she did not put Aveion's body in the trash.

Lockett claimed to have nothing to do with the murder.

Police also confronted Lockett about Aveion's many missed doctor's appointments, a broken arm left untreated, and several cigarette burns found on his body.

Lockett claimed on the tape either not to remember or that she didn't know what investigators were talking about.

Investigators also asked Lockett about Aveion's weight loss before his death.

Investigators believe he weighed around 14 pounds at the time of his death.

Prosecutors told jurors earlier this week that, at the time Aveion was returned to the Locketts after a near year long stay in foster care, he weighed almost 30 pounds.

On the tape, Lockett said her son looked like a "stuffed sausage" after his stay in foster care, but she was satisfied with his size since it was proof he could gain weight.

The trial resumes Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Original post:

The jury in the Morgan Lockett case spent much of the morning listening to a police recording of an interview between Lockett and a pair of Roanoke city police detectives dating back to late February 2010.

Local attorney Richard Lawrence was representing Lockett at that time on other matters.

Lawrence was with Lockett during the interview.

On the recording, Lockett can be heard reacting with surprise as investigators told her an autopsy report found her son, Aveion Lewis, suffered from a broken arm and cigarette burns at some point in time before his death.

Both the arm and the burns had either healed or were healing when Aveion died, according to prior courtroom testimony.

The tape is more than one hour long.

The jury broke for lunch a few minutes after noon and will hear the rest of the tape when the trial reconvenes at 1:30 p.m.

10 On Your Side's Scott Leamon is in the courtroom and will have more beginning on WSLS 10 On Your Side at 5 p.m.

http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/oct/12/3/jury-hears-police-interview-recording-lockett-tria-ar-1378582/

Second day of trial filled with voice of slain child's mom, Morgan Lockett
Jurors hear the woman accused of killing her 2-year-old say she feared he was overweight.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Morgan Lockett told investigators she feared 2-year-old Aveion Lewis was overweight when her son was returned to her after nearly a year in foster care, according to a recorded police interview played for jurors in her murder trial Thursday.

"I was scared my son was obese," Lockett said, likening his pudgy physique to a sausage, but adding, "I was fine with that because that meant he could gain weight."

Born prematurely, Aveion was treated by doctors for "failure to thrive" and was taken from his mother by social services over health concerns. He gained 20 pounds during 11 months with a foster family, plumping up to 30 to 40 pounds. When his body was discovered nine months later, he was down to 18 pounds, prosecutors have said. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Sandra Workman said such a dramatic weight loss was significant enough to cause starvation.

The audio recording of Lockett came on the second day of her murder and child abuse trial in Roanoke Circuit Court and was the first time jurors had heard her voice. In -conversation with detectives, she sometimes laughed and joked, but as the questioning intensified, she frequently raised her voice in anger.

The trial's first witness, police Detective H.L. Willoughby, with the juvenile crime squad, testified that Lockett gave the interview on Feb. 26, 2010, about a month after Aveion's body was found in a Roanoke County landfill, and soon after his autopsy.

Judge Clifford Weckstein told jurors to overlook detectives' statements and consider only Lockett's responses as evidence.

In the recording, Lockett also said she was unaware of her young son's broken arm, scars across his buttocks or burns on his legs - including a wound investigators said appeared to have come from a lit cigarette, according to the interview.

"I knew he had hurt his arm, but I didn't know it was broken or fractured," Morgan Lockett told police on the recording. She said Aveion had fallen from a swing set but said she saw no injury.

"He just wouldn't use it for a couple of days," Lockett said. "He cried at first, but after that he didn't cry."

An investigator said on the recording that Aveion's arm "was broken midshaft, a spiral fracture," indicating abuse.

Lockett also answered questions about burns on the backs of Aveion's legs, which had disturbed his baby sitter. Willoughby told Lockett the baby sitter's father had asked Aveion whether the second-degree burns were hurting him and said the child answered, "Yes."

"Aveion says 'yes' to everything," Lockett said on the recording.

After Aveion's death, his stepfather, Brandon Lockett, told police the child had been kidnapped, a ruse he maintained for days.

On cross-examination by defense lawyer Correy Diviney, Willoughby testified that when she went to the Lockett home to investigate the kidnapping, Morgan Lockett appeared unconcerned.

"There was no emotion coming from her at all," Willoughby said.

"Is there some specific way a woman is supposed to react when their child has been abducted?" Diviney asked.

The detective said that although it was her first kidnapping call, Morgan Lockett's "focus was on Brandon."

Willoughby testified that a police officer put the couple in a patrol car, alone together, and activated the cruiser's dashboard camera to record their voices without telling them.

Morgan Lockett later volunteered to police to get her husband to reveal what he'd done with the body and offered to take a polygraph test, Willoughby testified.

She didn't take the polygraph because of her pregnancy, the detective said.

The third witness Wednesday, Roanoke police Lt. Todd Clingenpeel, described the search that ensued after Aveion was reported missing.

Clingenpeel said 120 searchers from 22 organizations turned out for the wintertime hunt that spanned six days before it was finally halted by a winter storm warning.

The trial is to resume today.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299624

Testimony on condition of slain toddler’s bedroom brings juror to tears
By Neil Harvey | The Roanoke Times


Morgan Lockett sits with defense lawyer Thomas Strelka as prosecutors present evidence in court today.


Three days into Morgan Lockett’s trial for first-degree murder and child abuse, prosecutors delved deeper into evidence found in and around the Locketts’ residence in southeast Roanoke.

The exhibits entered today were collected in early 2010, not long after Lockett’s husband, Brandon Lockett, told police their 2-year-old son Aveion was the victim of a kidnapping for ransom. Brandon Lockett admitted days later that the kidnapping had been a hoax and that Aveion was dead and his body disposed of.

Investigators today showed jurors a child’s small mattress that was marked with red stains and was missing a large section of its vinyl cover on the side that faced up.

“There was an overpowering urine smell in the room,” FBI analyst Glen Dale McGaha testified. “My feet stuck to the floor.”

McGaha said Aveion’s bed was bare when they entered the room, with no pillow, no sheet and no covers. The bed frame also had red stains on it and other investigators testified that there were red stains on the floor of the bedroom, beside a toy police car.

One of the jurors dabbed at her eyes with a tissue after the mattress was shown.

Other evidence introduced today in Roanoke Circuit Court:

– A pillow found in a nearby Dumpster that was similar to one in Aveion’s bedroom.

– The electrical cord and bandana that was used to bind and blindfold Morgan Lockett’s older daughter during the fake kidnapping.

– Several stained items of clothing that were found in the Lockett’s laundry room.



FBI evidence analyst Glen Dale McGaha presents a child-sized mattress, marked with red stains and missing a section of its vinyl cover on the top-facing side.

Two-year-old Aveion Lewis' body was found wrapped in plastic and tape in a Roanoke County landfill in early 2010.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/299648

Jurors hear that Aveion Lewis was thin, neglected
Aveion Lewis was undersized and his living conditions were unclean, witnesses said.
A photo taken of Aveion Lewis after he was removed from his mother's care shows him in a state that a social services worker said resembled "something you would see on TV from Ethiopia."

A photo of Aveion only a few months after he was removed from his mother's care shows a more robust child.

Prosecution evidence presented Thursday in Morgan Lockett's murder and child abuse trial came from two distinct periods in her son's short life: the months leading to social services' removal of toddler Aveion Lewis from his mother's care in 2008, and the investigation that began soon after he died in 2010, before his third birthday.

Marty Harmon, a social services worker, told jurors in Roanoke Circuit Court she went to the Lockett home after a caseworker raised concerns in May 2008.

"I was startled by his size," Harmon said of Aveion, 15 months old at the time but weighing just 8 pounds. "He looked like a child you'd see on TV from Ethiopia."

Tanya Holmes, a case manager for Child Health Investment Partnership of Roanoke Valley, a health care provider for low-income families, testified that she notified social services after becoming disturbed by her visits to the Lockett home over the previous year.

Holmes told jurors Lockett was "very affectionate and loving" with her older daughter, Gabrielle Lewis, but said, "With Aveion, it was like she didn't bond with him."

Holmes said that from 2007 into 2008, Lockett missed health care appointments, left Aveion for extended periods in an Exersaucer baby seat that didn't allow his feet to touch the ground, and put water and applesauce in his baby bottle instead of formula. She said the toddler stayed skinny and became increasingly lethargic.

Lisa Uherick, an emergency room pediatric physician with Carilion Clinic, testified that when social services brought Aveion from his home to the hospital, "his head was proportionally larger than his body."

Aveion was put into foster care late that night, Uherick told the court.

"He was unable to sit up on his own," recalled Jeffrey Yopp, a Roanoke County firefighter who, with his wife, Michelle, fostered Aveion for almost a year afterward. "When he would cry, it was almost like a whimper. He didn't like to be touched."

Yopp testified he and his wife bottle-fed Aveion with formula every two hours. In the weeks that followed, the toddler was able to sit up, then crawl, then walk. He became energetic and outgoing, shouting, "Hey!" to strangers as he was wheeled through stores on shopping trips, Yopp said.

When Aveion was taken to visit his mother and stepfather every other week, Yopp testified, both Brandon Lockett and Morgan Lockett told him the child "looked fat."

Social services returned Aveion to his mother on April 1, 2009.
The following month, Morgan Lockett stopped allowing visits from CHIP representatives, Holmes testified.

Prosecutors on Thursday also delved deeper into evidence found in and around the Lockett home in southeast Roanoke in January 2010.

The evidence was collected not long after Brandon Lockett told police Aveion was the victim of a kidnapping for ransom. Brandon Lockett admitted, days afterward, that the kidnapping had been a hoax and that Aveion was dead and his body disposed of.

Investigators showed jurors the child's small mattress taken from Aveion's bedroom. It was marked with red stains and a large section was torn from its top side.

"There was an overpowering urine smell in the room," FBI analyst Glen Dale McGaha testified. "My feet stuck to the floor."

McGaha said Aveion's bed was bare when they entered the room, with no pillow, no sheet and no covers. The bed frame had red stains on it and other investigators testified that there were red stains on the floor, beside a toy police car.

One of the jurors dabbed at her eyes with a tissue after the mattress was shown.

Other evidence included:

- A pillow found in a nearby Dumpster that was similar to one in Aveion's bedroom.

- The electrical cord and bandanna that was used to bind and blindfold Morgan Lockett's older daughter, Gabrielle, during the fake kidnapping.

- Several stained items of clothing that were found in the Locketts' laundry room.

The trial is scheduled to resume today.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299690

Neighbors of Morgan Lockett tell jurors of seeing alleged abuse

By: SCOTT LEAMON
Published: October 14, 2011

7:10 p.m.

Several of Morgan Lockett's neighbors told the jury they saw what might have been considered child abuse in the months before Aveion Lewis's death.

Lockett is charged with first degree murder, and several other alleged crimes, in the death of her two-year-old son, Aveion.

Two neighbors told jurors how they spotted what looked like untreated burns on Aveion Lewis's feet.

Earlier in the Friday session, the jury heard from a therapist and a doctor who said Aveion's weight and overall health looked good in the days following a juvenile and domestic relations court judge's decision to grant the Locketts full custody of Aveion in the fall of 2009.

Investigators believe the boy died some time in mid January 2010.

A Radford University forensic anthropology professor told the judge that she thought Aveion suffered a broken arm about one to four weeks before his death.

But the jury never heard the professor's opinion because the judge said she couldn't testify to her theory since she was not a medical doctor.

The trial resumes Monday morning at 9 a.m.

1:20 p.m.

Following its morning break, the jury heard more of that interview between Lockett and two police detectives.

It became clear about midway through the tape that investigators had gotten Brandon Lockett to admit Aveion was dead.

The detectives can be heard on the tape asking Morgan Lockett several times if she knew where Brandon put the body or helped him.

Morgan Lockett was adamant she had nothing to do with the disappearance.

"I promise you I would not jeopardize my kids," Lockett told investigators.

She added "Aveion was fine before I left the house."

Morgan Lockett said she felt "betrayed" by Brandon Lockett, saying she thought she "knew him."

A detective asked Morgan Lockett who protected Aveion from Brandon Lockett.

"I did," Morgan Lockett said. "I did..."

Original post:

The jury is listening to another audiotape of an interview between Morgan Lockett and two Roanoke city police detectives.

Prosecutors said this particular interview took place on January 20, 2010, one day after police told Lockett they believed her son, Aveion Lewis, was dead.

It also took place about one week before investigators recovered Aveion's body.

Lockett can be heard describing to detectives Aveion's eating habits. She also told them how she was attempting to potty train her two-year-old son.

This tape has so far been a lot more cordial than the first tape prosecutors played for the jury.

That tape ended with Morgan Lockett crying and shouting at investigators. The tape was from late February 2010, not long before a grand jury indicted Lockett for Aveion's alleged murder.

http://www2.wsls.com/news/2011/oct/14/5/jury-hears-another-morgan-lockett-interview-tape-d-ar-1384009/

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Witness: Morgan Lockett vague about details
A neighbor said Morgan Lockett was reluctant to answer her questions about Aveion Lewis' fate

It was the night of Jan. 26, 2010, one day before the body of 2-year-old Aveion Lewis was found buried in a landfill.

The boy's stepfather, Brandon Lockett, was locked up in Roanoke City Jail. No longer believing Lockett's story that armed intruders kidnapped his stepson, police had charged him with child neglect, obstruction of justice and improper disposal of a body they were still frantically searching for.

Aveion's mother, Morgan Lockett, showed up at the jail that night to visit her husband.

Afterward, she caught a ride home with Aurelia Allen, a neighbor who lived in her Jamestown public housing complex.

Allen was brimming with the same questions many people had. "I kept bringing it up," she told a jury in Roanoke Circuit Court on Friday.

"What do you think happened? What's going on? Where is he? Did he tell you anything?"

Morgan Lockett was reluctant to talk, Allen said, but eventually offered this observation:

"She just said only Brandon and God know what happened," Allen told the jury.

Allen's testimony came on the fourth day of a trial for Morgan Lockett, 24, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of killing her son. A former elementary school assistant, Lockett is charged with first-degree murder, child abuse and neglect of Aveion, who suffered burns, a broken arm and severe malnutrition in the weeks before his death.

Brandon Lockett, 25, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, child abuse and neglect of Aveion in August and could be a witness in a trial that is scheduled to resume Monday.

In testimony Friday, Detective April McCadden of the Roanoke Police Department said authorities do not know just when Aveion was killed, or where.

Isn't it also true, defense attorney Thomas Strelka asked, that police don't know how the toddler died?

Judge Clifford Weckstein sustained the prosecution's objection to that line of inquiry.

Although a cause of death is murky — in part because the body was found badly decomposed with half the head missing — prosecutors have said it will be up to the jury to decide that question.

A medical examiner who conducted an autopsy is expected to testify Monday.

Prosecutors had hoped to use the testimony of a forensic anthropologist, who worked with the medical examiner's office on the case, to establish that a fracture to Aveion's left arm had happened from one to four weeks before his death.

But after defense attorneys questioned Donna Boyd's credentials to testify as an expert witness, Weckstein ruled that she could not give an opinion on the age of the fracture.

When Aveion first went missing, nearly two years ago, authorities did not know they had a homicide on their hands.

Brandon Lockett claimed the boy had been taken for a $10,000 ransom by kidnappers, setting off a highly publicized hunt. Lockett later told police his stepson had choked on a honey bun and said the body had been disposed of by a friend he knew only as "Jose."

After a lengthy search, Aveion's body was found two weeks later, wrapped in plastic and badly damaged in a Roanoke County landfill.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299743

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Morgan Lockett's charge now second-degree murder
The reduction in the charge followed testimony that could not establish how Aveion Lewis died.

The judge in Morgan Lockett's murder and child abuse trial dropped the first-degree murder charge late Monday and ruled the case will proceed with a second-degree murder charge.

The decision means Lockett, 24, no longer faces the possibility of life imprisonment in the death of her son, 2-year-old Aveion Lewis. The maximum penalty for second-degree murder is 40 years in prison.

Roanoke Circuit Court jurors during the trial's fifth day heard testimony from a half-dozen witnesses, including Dr. Christena Roberts, former assistant chief medical examiner, who examined Aveion's body and said the amount of weight he lost in the last months of his life "could potentially be fatal."

But after hearing arguments from defense lawyers and prosecutors, Judge Clifford Weckstein said Roberts "could not exclude other causes of death."

Because Aveion's body was missing part of the head when recovered by investigators in a Roanoke County landfill in January 2010, the cause of death was never determined.

"Were the jury to return a verdict of guilt of first-degree murder, it would be based on Dr. Roberts' testimony," Weckstein said.

The judge cited the Supreme Court of Virginia, which said: "A medical opinion based on a probability is purely speculation."

As a result, the judge said, jurors shouldn't be asked to decide the first-degree murder charge.

Roberts, in her testimony Monday, told jurors that Aveion's remains, damaged by heavy equipment while being processed into the landfill, weighed about 15 pounds. She estimated the toddler's total weight was 18 pounds to 20 pounds.

When Aveion had been returned to his home after a stint in foster care, in April 2009, he weighed 30 pounds to 40 pounds, suggesting a loss of approximately half his body weight in the last nine months of his life.

Roberts told jurors an external examination of the remains showed severe malnutrition, including a sunken abdomen and wasted muscles in his extremities.

An internal exam showed so little subcutaneous fat -- fat beneath the skin -- she said she didn't bother to measure it.

"It was so thin, I think less than a millimeter," Roberts said. "There wouldn't be any point."

Art Strickland, one of Morgan Lockett's defense attorneys, objected to Roberts' testimony midway through on the grounds that the cause of death could not be determined. Even Aveion's final body weight was an estimate by investigators, he said.

The jury was sent out of the courtroom and defense and prosecutors argued the parameters of Roberts' questioning for more than an hour before she resumed testimony.

Roberts also walked jurors through forensic photographs that depicted injuries she said Aveion suffered, images that led at least one juror to tears.

The injuries included an untreated spiral fracture of his arm; a long, linear scar across his buttocks; small "starburst" scars on the back of his hand and wrist; "a collection of scars" on his right thigh; scarring behind the right knee Roberts said was "consistent with second-degree burns"; and bruises on his right ankle.

Aveion's stepfather and Morgan Lockett's husband, Brandon Lockett, initially claimed the child had been kidnapped by home invaders. He later changed his story, saying Aveion choked to death on a honey bun and his body had been disposed of by an acquaintance.

But Roberts testified that Aveion had no food at all in either his esophagus or stomach, indicating he hadn't eaten anything on the day he died.

Jurors also heard testimony from Aveion's gastroenterologist, Dr. Michael Hart, who testified he began treating the toddler in May 2007 because of Aveion's apparent inability to gain weight.

Hart told the court he screened the child for health problems.

"He gained weight very nicely when hospitalized," said Hart, who diagnosed him with "failure to thrive of a nonorganic means."

When social services seized Aveion from Brandon and Morgan Lockett in May 2008, Hart testified he called 911 when the drastically emaciated boy was brought to his office.

"I thought he was going to die," Hart said.

Forensic scientist Nicole Harold presented testimony indicating blood found on laundry in the home and on the floor of Aveion's bedroom was likely Aveion's blood. On cross-examination by defense attorney Thomas Strelka, Harold testified that blood found on the inside of a pair of Brandon Lockett's shorts was not analyzed because prosecutors hadn't requested it.

Strelka's questioning also revealed investigators didn't know how much blood had been spilled, or when it had happened.

Police Deputy Chief Curtis Davis, commander of the investigating team, described for the jury how searchers coordinated efforts to find Aveion's body after it was processed into the Smith Gap landfill in Roanoke County.

Landfill employee James Connor testified police academy recruits had to sort through nearly 280 tons of garbage in their search.

The defense is scheduled to begin its case today, when the trial resumes.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/299830

It's too bad the mother won't be charged with first degree murder. I hope she still gets a lot of years for abusing this poor child.

Mom pleads no contest in Aveion murder
By Neil Harvey | The Roanoke Times

Morgan Lockett, tears streaming down her cheeks, pleaded no contest today to second-degree murder and felony child abuse in the killing of her 2-year-old son, Aveion Lewis.

The 24-year-old mom of four other children struck a deal with prosecutors as her murder trial before a Roanoke Circuit Court jury entered its sixth day. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a child endangerment charge.

She faces a maximum of 40 years imprisonment on the murder charge and 10 years on the child abuse charge when she is sentenced in January. If the jury had convicted her on all charges, she could have been sentenced to a maximum of 55 years.

Lockett's weeping was her most overt display of emotion in the six days the trial. She told Circuit Judge Clifford Weckstein she has been taking Buspar, an anti-anxiety drug. The judge declared her guilty after she entered the plea.

The plea came a day after Weckstein dropped the first-degree murder charge, saying the prosecution failed to prove that starvation killed Aveion. The medical examiner told jurors the child’s dramatic weight loss in the last months of his life “could potentially be fatal,” but she couldn’t exclude other causes of death. Aveion's body, found in a Roanoke County landfill, showed evidence of untreated burns and a broken arm, the medical examiner said.

Juror Mike Payne of Roanoke said afterward he didn’t believe the prosecution presented enough evidence to prove murder.

“I guess what I believe and a lot of other people believe are two different things,” Payne said outside the courthouse. “There wasn’t enough evidence to justify that charge. I didn’t see enough to justify that for myself.”

Payne said he was disappointed in the outcome.

“I wanted to follow it to the end,” he said.

Lockett’s husband, Brandon Lockett, who was Aveion’s stepfather, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and child abuse in August.

Weckstein said Brandon Lockett yesterday asked to withdraw his plea.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/299841

Judge denies Brandon Lockett's request to have his plea rescinded
Brandon Lockett was charged in the death of his 2-year-old stepson


Chris Hurst
Anchor/Reporter
4:42 p.m. EST, November 29, 2011

ROANOKE, Va.—
The man charged with starving his 2-year-old stepson to death won't be allowed to take back a plea deal.
Brandon Lockett made the request earlier this month. On Tuesday a judge denied Lockett's request to have his plea rescinded.
He said his lawyers coerced him into the deal and that he didn't know the rights he was giving up.
A judge referred to a court date in August when he made the deal to drop his first degree murder charge to second degree.

"When I took the plea, yes I did feel pressured as I filed in my motion," Lockett said Tuesday. "No I wasn't threatened but I felt coerced afterwards. I felt coerced into taking the plea."
The judge said if Lockett didn't understand what he was doing -- that was the time to speak up.
Lockett also wanted to drop his court-appointed lawyers. It was possible Lockett could have defended himself and he said his defense would have been to refute expert testimony and cite a lack of evidence in the case. The judge disagreed.

"Mr. Lockett's concept that a defense exists is not based in reality," he said.
The child's foster father says all that's left is sentencing and then this saga may finally be over.
"I don't know if they ever will own up to what they've done or didn't do," said Jeff Yopp, Aveion Lewis' foster father. "It's between them and God now. It is frustrating but at least the court system has given them every chance they could possibly get, and they're still found guilty."

Both Brandon and the boy's mother Morgan Lockett will be sentenced in January.

They were found guilty of killing Aveion Lewis in 2010.
His remains were found in a landfill.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-man-accused-of-starving-child-to-death-in-roanoke-courtroom-tuesday-20111129,0,3724256.story

ROANOKE, Va----

UPDATED 1:49 p.m.: Morgan Lockett, the mother
convicted of killing her 2-year-old son, sentenced to 10 years for
felony child abuse, and 30 years for 2nd degree murder.

Lockett will serve a total of 40 years in prison.
Lockett faced up to 50 years in prison for the murder of the child in
2010. Lockett pleaded no contest and was convicted of second degree
murder and child neglect in October.

Her husband, Brandon Lockett, pleaded no contest to similar charges and will be sentenced later this month.
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-mother-of-murdered-twoyearold-to-be-sentenced-today-20120104,0,7016698.story

UPDATE: Mother of murdered two-year-old sentenced to 40 years

Morgan Lockett sentenced in 2010 death of her son, Aveion Lewis

January 04, 2012|Susan Bahorich | News 7 Reporter

Nearly two-years after little Aveion Lewis went missing, his mother was sentenced for his death.
Wednesday, a judge gave Morgan Lockett 40-years in connection with the toddler's death in 2010.
Morgan Lockett could have gotten 50-years for 2nd degree murder and child abuse.

Instead, the 25-year-old will go to prison for four-decades.

When she comes out she'll have 15-years probation and is not allowed to live, work or be near young children.

Her defense claimed Morgan was a woman who was manipulated and controlled by her husband, Brandon Lockett.

They say he was the one responsible for Aveion Lewis' death.

Unlike in her trial, Morgan Lockett took the stand.

For the first time she apologized, but maintained her innocence. "I'm sorry for not properly being a mother, even though there's not a handbook, nothing telling you how to be a mother," cried Morgan Lockett on the stand.

Morgan's defense team was disappointed in the sentence, but the prosecution said it was glad the judge held Morgan accountable for the abuse that started before Brandon Lockett entered the picture.

In a surprise Wednesday morning, we learned Morgan Lockett submitted a letter to the court similar to one that her husband submitted in October.

The difference, Morgan's letter said she was having second thoughts about her plea. It did NOT ask to withdrawal her plea, which is what Brandon has requested.

He's due to be sentenced for Aveion's death later this month.

http://articles.wdbj7.com/2012-01-04/brandon-lockett_30591143

Good! 40 years for that loser who called herself a mother. Thank God she won't be able to bear any more children to abuse. I hope she enjoys her time in jail.