Louisiana
A Dead 3-Year-Old Was Brought to a Louisiana Hospital. Now, 3 People Face Charges of Abuse
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(726x422:728x424)/Szysznyk-Dewanequa-Kewanna-030825-2ee203fcbe274503bcca4f0fcfeb4fec.jpg?ssl=1 "A Dead 3-Year-Old Was Brought to a Louisiana Hospital. Now, 3 People Face Charges of Abuse")
Three people have been charged in Louisiana after allegedly bringing a 3-year-old child to the hospital dead, according to authorities.
The Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office shared in a social media post on Wednesday, March 5, that Kewanna Monique Lard, 44, Dewanequa Monique Nykeria Lard, 23, and Szysznyk DeWayne Phillips, 48, were charged with cruelty to juveniles.
Kewanna and Dewanequa were also charged with second-degree cruelty to juveniles and obstruction of justice.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators responded to Bienville Medical Center on Feb. 13 after being informed about Bienville Parish residents “who arrived at the emergency room with the deceased child.” An autopsy was conducted on the 3-year-old as officers investigated what led to the child’s death.
“Following an autopsy, investigators began to look further into suspected physical abuse of the deceased child as well as a [14-year-old child] who resided in the same household,” police said in a statement.
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Police said that Kewanna, Dewanequa and Phillips lived together with the 14-year-old child and 3-year-old child — both of whom were not identified — in a home in Lucky, La., according to the release.
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The sheriff’s office said investigators were able to obtain “sufficient evidence” in order to arrest the trio and charge them. They were booked into the Bienville Parish Jail, with bond set at $100,000 on each count, police said.
Police said that their “investigation is ongoing” and “additional charges are pending” in the case.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office for more information on the case.
Local outlet KTBS-TV identified the deceased 3-year-old as Rayshawn “Nico” Lard. According to an online obituary, the child was born in Castor, La., on Oct. 9, 2021.
He was described as a child who “loved PAW Patrol,” as well as “his mom, siblings and cookies.” His funeral was held by his family on Feb. 28.
Sheriff John Ballance told KTBS-TV that at this point in their investigation, none of the three people arrested so far have been charged with homicide.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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