The mother of a toddler who died while in the care of her boyfriend in Maplewood in February has been charged for child endangerment.
Leb Meak, 35, was charged with second-degree murder in Ramsey County in February. The girl's mother, Lia Pearson, 37, was charged after prosecutor say she still left her daughter in the care of Meak after she saw injuries and others told her about the abuse.
Police responded to a call of a toddler who was not breathing just after 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12. Meak led officers to a downstairs bedroom of his Maplewood home, where they found Genesis Xiong, not moving or breathing. Medics giving CPR found a large number of bruises on Genesis' chest, stomach and face.
During formal interviews, Meak said he was caring for 18-month-old Genesis, for 2 1/2 weeks since Pearson lived in Farmington and worked in Burnsville.
Meak says he “roughed her up a bit” while changing Genesis’ diaper, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted to shaking Genesis a few times.
Preliminary autopsy reports show she died from multiple external injuries and internal injuries to the abdomen and head.
During an interview with Meak’s two sons, they told investigators they would hear hitting sounds coming from the bedroom where Genesis would be kept most of the time. They also said that they told Pearson their dad was hitting her daughter long before her death, the complaint states.
Pearson said she noticed some bruises and did not take Genesis to the doctor. She also admitted Meak's sons asked her to take Genesis home, but she said she rationalized the boys told her this because they did not want her daughter to live with them.
When asked if Pearson had made contact with Meak in jail, she said "no" and she did not want to have anything to do with Meak. However, a review of recorded phone conversations from the jail revealed they had a number of phone conversations.
On Feb. 24,
Pearson told Meak she was angry but still loved him, and when he gets out they could visit her daughter’s grave, the complaint states.
During phone conversations in March and April, Pearson told Meak she loved him and she can’t change how she feels. They also talked about a ring.
According to the complaint, Meak told Pearson that they will be together when he is 39 or 40 if she does her part.
Pearson was ordered to appear in court on May 15.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3773204.shtml?cat=1The underline statemanet makes me sick. What a HOE!!!!