Tacoma toddler suffered abuse called beyond ‘horrific.’ Mother is charged with murder
A 3-year-old boy who was found dead in a South Tacoma apartment Sunday was allegedly beaten to death by his mother and had burns and cuts on his body, according to charging documents.
Ivey Marie Lewis, 25, has been charged in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder in the death of her son. The boy, who has not been publicly identified, was allegedly returned to her from foster care six months before his death Feb. 12. The mother was reportedly under supervision by Child Protective Services.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on the defendant’s behalf at arraignment Tuesday afternoon. Commissioner Craig Adams set bail at $2 million. Before imposing that amount, Adams said he had read all of the alleged facts outlined in the declaration for determination of probable cause.
“To call it horrific is to understate it,” Adams said.
The probable cause document describes bruises, cuts and burns found all over the victim’s body, from his buttocks to his head. Tacoma Police Department detectives allegedly found a Taser on a kitchen table with prongs that appeared to match injuries on the boy’s chest and a red substance consistent with dried blood spatter on the walls of a playroom.
Arguing for that high bail amount, deputy prosecutor Afton Gregson referred to the alleged facts of the case and Lewis’ criminal history. Gregson said the state added an aggravating factor to her charges for deliberate cruelty due to the “number, type and severity of the victim’s injuries.”
Lewis has two prior felony convictions and 11 prior arrests, Gregson said. She said the convictions were for unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm from 2015.
“The defendant was under CPS supervision, and this victim had been in foster care for quite some time,” Gregson said. “This shows that the defendant had resources available that she chose not to avail herself of.”
According to court records, Lewis has several other children, including a boy she lost custody of in 2020 to her mother-in-law. Another 1-year-old boy found in her apartment when Tacoma police officers were called there Sunday evening was examined at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and found to have methamphetamine in his system, records state. Lewis also told officers she is pregnant.
Police went to the apartment in the 3200 block of South Mason Avenue at about 7:35 p.m. Officers were called there by a friend of Lewis who reportedly went to her apartment after the Super Bowl and was brought to the toddler, who “appeared cold to the touch.” Records state the friend yelled to call 911 and then went to a nearby convenience store to make the call himself.
When police arrived, Lewis allegedly said her son was unresponsive in a bedroom. Officers found the boy lying on his back with his knees slightly bent.
“They saw that he had multiple bruises on his face that appeared to be fresh,” prosecutors wrote in the declaration for determination of probable cause. “The victim’s face was discolored, bruised, and had obvious burn marks on the entirety of his face. Officers also observed cuts on the victim’s face.”
Officers put the toddler on the floor and attempted CPR, but records state the boy was stiff and had no pulse. Interviewed by detectives later, Lewis was asked why she didn’t call 911 earlier. She allegedly said she didn’t call 911 when she found him unresponsive because she didn’t know what to do.
A preliminary autopsy found the boy’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to his head, according to the probable cause document. The Pierce County medical examiner found trauma on the front, right and back sides of his head and declared the death a homicide, records state.
While officers tried to provide medical aid, Lewis allegedly said her son had run into the wall and hit his head multiple times, and she said he did that regularly. She also said the boy was sleeping near a heater in the living room when she found him unresponsive, records state.
Officers noted the heater was set to its maximum setting, and the apartment was so hot one officer found it difficult to breathe.
Injuries were also found on the toddler’s left ear, above his eyebrows, on his lower torso and on his back. Detectives found wounds consistent with being struck with something on his chest, sides, arms and legs, records state.
The bedroom where the boy was found was searched, and investigators found an electrical cord tied at one end with loose wires at the other. The loops in the wire appeared to match loop-shaped injuries on the toddler.
In interviews with detectives, Lewis was asked about disciplining her children. The defendant allegedly said she typically put her 3-year-old son in time out as a punishment and rarely “swatted” him with her hands. Records state later in the interview, she allegedly admitted to hitting the boy with a belt when she caught him “cuddling” with a female child. She denied ever using a cord or hanger to strike him.
Detectives also interviewed the 911 caller, who said he had previously seen Lewis hit the victim with an electrical cord. According to the probable cause document, he said Lewis made the boy raise one of his arms, and she struck him in the side with the cord.
The 911 caller said Lewis was punishing him for peeing on a mattress that had been in the playroom. Prosecutors wrote in the documents that the mattress was removed after the incident, allegedly leaving the toddler without a sleeping area.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 2:50 PM.
