Virginia mall security detains woman with decomposing baby in shopping bag
ROANOKE, Va. July 22 2020 Detectives in Roanoke County, Virginia are working to see if an infant found dead in a shopping bag is related to the woman who was carrying it.
DNA swab ordered after baby’s body found partially decomposed in shopping bag (Video: WSET)
Roanoke County Police said they were called to Tanglewood Mall Sunday afternoon for reports of a woman behaving erratically.
Mall security told police she had assaulted an officer.
According to a search warrant, Mandy Lavonne Lacy, 34, began fighting with police when they responded. She was arrested for assault on a police officer and for being drunk in public.
When officers searched her belongings, warrants show they found an infant’s body wrapped in a jacket, inside a small grocery-style bag.
The police department has taken out a search warrant against Lacy for DNA swabs to determine if Lacy is related to the child.
An affidavit for the search warrant also shows the DNA swab is requested in relation to “an offense substantially described as a violation of section 18:2-32 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, to wit: Murder.”
The police department announced Monday that the baby’s body was partially decomposed, making it difficult to determine the baby’s age and sex. Detectives will have to wait for the medical examiner’s results before moving forward.
An affidavit to the search warrant taken out against Mandy Lacy shows police are investigating an infant’s death as murder (Photo: WSET)
Police described Lacy as being a “transient”, or not a resident, of Roanoke. More charges are pending an investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at (540) 562-3265
WSET
