CHESTERFIELD, SC (WBTW) – A woman charged with homicide by child abuse in the death of her 11-month-old daughter is out on bond.
Breanna Lewis was released on Tuesday from the Chesterfield County Detention Center on a $35,000 bond. According to the sheriff’s office, the body of Lewis’ daughter was found on May 29, 2018, hidden under paper inside a diaper box about 1,000 yards from her home.
Deputy Solicitor Kernard Redmond 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.
Redmond said 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,” Redmond said in court earlier this year.
In June of 2018, 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 cannot comment on the case, including on social media. The order also prevents Lewis’ family from talking about the case.
In January, a judge ordered no bond be set until a mental evaluation is completed. Due to the gag order, the outcome of that evaluation is unknown.
