HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 04-22 Mom charged with child endangerment MAPLEWOOD REVIEW2/9/2016 Mom charged with child endangerment in death of 17 -month-old in Maplewood I Lillie Suburban Newspapers - LillieNews.com
Mom chargedwithchild
endangerment indeath
of
17-month-oldin
Maplewood
Submitted by jholub on Wed, 04/22/2015 - 3:16pm
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Following the death of 17 -month-old Genesis Xiong, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged the baby's mother with
child endangerment on the grounds that she knowingly left her child in an abusive situation.
Lia Pearson, 37, of Farmington, also known as Lia Lee, now faces a maximum sentence of five years in jail, a $10,000 fine or
both.
Her boyfriend, Leb Mike Meak, 35, was charged with murder in the second-degree in connection with the beating death of
Genesis under his care at his home in Maplewood.
The Ramsey County medical examiner has ruled the child's death a homicide. Prosecutors are asking for bail of $1.5 million.
If Meak is convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The crime scene
According to criminal complaints, Maplewood police and fire responders were called to a house in the 2500 block of Barclay
Street at 11:03 a.m. on Feb. 12, where a baby was reportedly not breathing.
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2/9/2016 Mom charged with child endangerment in death of 17 -month-old in Maplewood I Lillie Suburban Newspapers - LillieNews.com
Meak, who had made the call, led them down to a basement bedroom. Paramedics attempted to revive Genesis, but she was
declared dead at the scene, with a large number of black and purple bruises covering her stomach and chest, as well as
some on her face.
Meak and his father, who was also in the home with the baby at the time, were taken to the Maplewood Police Department for
questioning.
During initial interviews, Meak reportedly stated that he may have caused the child's injuries that resulted in her death. That
morning, he said he had shaken the little girl and noticed she "kind of froze a little bit," appearing lifeless.
Allegedly, he told investigators he had "roughed her up a bit" while changing her diaper before, but not to the point where she
"passes out or anything."
He attributed other bumps and bruises to Genesis allegedly having hit her head on a space heater and some weights a few
days prior.
Other signs of abuse included the presence of semen on the genital area of the child, detected by crime scene investigators
with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Pearson to Meak: 'I am yours'
Meak is reportedly not the biological father of the child. He told investigators he had been caring for the girl at his Maplewood
home for a month while Pearson "worked a lot" in Burnsville.
Pearson told investigators she had known Meak for five years and the two had been in a committed relationship since August
2014. Since Meak did not work and allegedly told Pearson he liked watching after Genesis, she entrusted her baby to his
care while she was away.
She last saw her baby on Feb. 1, and reportedly noticed that Genesis had bruises on her forehead at the time. Meak denied
having caused the bruising, suggesting the baby had injured herself on his weight set. Pearson iced the injury, but did not
bring Genesis to a doctor or remove her from Meak's care.
In a subsequent interview, Pearson told investigators Meak's two sons had been informing her that Meak was hitting the child,
but she had ignored their warnings.
According to reports of Meak's recorded jail conversations with Pearson, from Feb. 21 through April 14, Pearson allegedly
told Meak she loves him, forgives him and is waiting for him.
"I am yours," she told him on April 2.
The two reportedly discussed a ring and Pearson told Meak she wanted to be his partner in life. To show her support, she
allegedly enlarged a photo of him to poster size and put it in her bedroom, sent him a photo of herself, sent him money and a
scented letter.
On April 14, Meak told her they'd be together when he's 39 or 40, if she "does her part," according to the criminal complaint.
Pearson is scheduled to appear at the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center May 15.
Erin Hinrichs can be reached at 651-748-7814 and ehinrichsalillienews.com. Follow her at twitter. com/EHinrichsNews.
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