ROANOKE, Va., March 2 (UPI) -- A Virginia couple has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing their 2-year-old son after abusing him since birth.
The body of Aveion Lewis was found in a county dump Jan. 27, the day after what would have been his third birthday.
The indictment handed up Monday also charged Morgan Lockett, 23, and Brandon Lockett, 24, of Roanoke with child neglect and cruelty, The Roanoke Times reported. Morgan Lockett surrendered and was held without bail, joining her husband in the Roanoke City Jail.
Brandon Lockett was arrested in January on charges that included improperly disposing of a body.
The couple originally told police Aveion, who was Brandon's stepson, had been abducted by three men who broke into their house. Morgan Lockett said she returned home from work to find the house ransacked, her husband unconscious, her 4-year-old daughter tied up and her son missing.
But prosecutors say Morgan Lockett failed to care for Aveion from birth. The boy was born with medical problems and had to have part of his intestine surgically removed.
Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell said he will be able to show both parents were at least aware of the abuse. The indictment does not say how Aveion died.