Breanna Lewis appeared in court in Chesterfield County on Wednesday and a judge ordered that no bond be set until a mental evaluation is completed.
“A 911 call was place indicating that Harlee Lewis, an 11-month-old child had been taken forcibly from the defendant,” said Deputy Solicitor Kernard E. Redmond.
According to Redmond, Lewis did not admit to being involved in the baby’s death and told officials she blacked out during certain points.
“She indicated that she gave the child CPR and actually had the child. That’s when she came back into the room a short time later, and Harlee was not breathing,” said Redmond.
During the hearing Wednesday morning, the solicitor said several red flags appeared during the autopsy, which led law enforcement to conclude the baby’s death was a homicide. The cause of death was listed as cerebral edema and or suffocation.
Lewis has been charged with homicide by child abuse in connection to the death of her daughter, according to the Chesterfield County Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Index.
According to Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks, the body of Lewis’ daughter, 11-month-old Harlee Lane Lewis, was found on May 29 hidden under paper inside a diaper box about 1,000 yards from her home in Chesterfield. The sheriff’s office described Lewis as the primary suspect in her daughter’s death.
In June, a judge signed a temporary gag order in the case.
The document signed by Judge Jocelyn Newman states that all employees and staff of the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office, SLED, and the 4th Circuit Solicitor’s Office can no longer comment on the case, including on social media. The order also prevents Lewis’ family from talking about the case.
