Mother Found Guilty in Heartbreaking Case of Toddler’s Tragic Death After Contact Lens Incident

A Louisiana mother has been convicted in the tragic case involving the death of her 2-year-old daughter, who succumbed to injuries after allegedly being struck in the torso for taking her mother’s contact lenses.

Lanaya Cardwell, aged 28, was found guilty of attempted second-degree cruelty to a juvenile in relation to the death of Nevaeh Allen, according to a report by local CBS affiliate WAFB. Initially, Cardwell and her then-boyfriend, Phillip Gardner, 30, faced charges of second-degree murder.

The case began on the morning of Sept. 24, 2021, when Nevaeh was at her Baton Rouge home with Cardwell and Gardner. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Louisiana First News — which serves as the combination of Fox affiliate WGMB and NBC affiliate WVLA — the child “picked up” Cardwell’s contact lenses, causing the woman to become “angry.”

The affidavit claims that Cardwell delivered a forceful punch to the child’s torso with a closed fist, causing Nevaeh to fall and hit her head against a cabinet. Following this, Cardwell allegedly took the child to another room, as witnessed by a 14-year-old, according to court documents.

Gardner, who was reportedly unable to see the incident in the other room, described hearing sounds resembling “two adults fighting,” as reported by The Advocate. He later observed a noticeable bruise on Nevaeh’s forehead.

After Cardwell left for work, Gardner reported that Nevaeh complained of stomach pain and refused to eat. He told investigators that he had fallen asleep, and upon waking, discovered the child unconscious and unresponsive.

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

“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 a tearful interview with a reporter — as kids stood and played behind her. “This morning I woke up, me and the fam went to the store … Nevaeh, the little girl, my little boy, and her daddy brought me to work, and that’s the last time I seen my baby.”

After finding Nevaeh unresponsive, Gardner reportedly said he tried to perform CPR — but 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. Prosecutors said he made a “makeshift grave deep in the woods” and put the child there, according to The Advocate, which cited court documents.

He then reportedly threw Nevaeh’s clothes in the garbage and drove home to file a “false missing persons report.” Prosecutors alleged that Nevaeh may have still been alive when Gardner put her inside the suitcase.

The Baton Rouge Police Department reported arriving at 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 found bruises on Nevaeh’s face and head, swelling to the brain and marks on her face “consistent with that of a handprint,” The Advocate reported. Her legs and buttocks were also covered in bruised, and the coroner reportedly also noted injuries on Nevaeh’s abdominal wall, “which were consistent with being punched in the abdomen.”

Gardner was convicted of the child’s murder and obstruction of justice in October 2025 and is now serving a life sentence in prison. Cardwell’s charge was downgraded afterward, but she turned down a deal that would have given her 10 years or less in prison on a charge of cruelty to juveniles.

She is now scheduled to be sentenced on May 12. She reportedly faces 20 years in prison.