(ABC NEWS)- A 19-year-old mother was arrested in South Carolina after claiming her 11-month-old had been ripped from her arms by a kidnapper and police later found the child dead in a plastic bag.
Breanna Lewis is the primary suspect in the infant’s death, authorities told WSOC-TV. She has been charged with filing a false report, and additional charges are pending.
Harlee Lane Lewis, the infant, had been the subject of an Amber Alert in Chesterfield County after her mother said the child was taken from her as they walked outside to get the mail. A man roughed her up, Lewis claimed, and sped off with Harlee in an SUV.
When Chesterfield County Sheriffs deputies searched the area on Tuesday, they discovered Harlee’s body inside a plastic bag, inside a diaper box, about 1,000 yards away from her home.
The apparent injuries sustained by Lewis are believed to be from a recent car accident, not an assailant, County Sheriff Jay Brooks told WSOC-TV.
As for Lewis’ pending charges, Brooks said: “It may be wrongful disposal of body, maybe not reporting child death, maybe murder, not sure.”
An autopsy of the 11-month-old is planned.