HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 04-20 Maplewood man admits to aggravating factors in beating death of child MAPLEWOOD REVIEW4/21/2016 Maplewood man admits to aggravating factors in beating death of child I Lillie Suburban Newspapers
Maplewood man admits to aggravating factors in beating
death of child
Submitted by admin on Wed, 04/20/2016 - 2:55pm
By: Aundrea Kinney
Leb Meak facing 25 years in prison
Leb Mike Meak
On the morning of April 19, Leb Mike Meak admitted to aggravating factors in the beating death of
Genesis Xiong, an 18 -month-old girl under his care at his home in Maplewood.
Meak is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison for the toddler's murder, which occurred on Feb.
12, 2015.
The 36 -year-old Meak was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded guilty in September.
According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, Meak's April 19 agreement for a 25 -year sentence
represents double the prison time the sentencing guidelines recommend and will need court approval at
sentencing on June 3.
"This defendant badly beat a child and waited to call 911 until she succumbed to her injuries," said
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.
"We are pleased with the resolution of this case knowing that nothing will make up for the loss of a
young life. I want to thank the prosecutor from my office along with the Maplewood Police Department
for their hard work in this case."
Maplewood police said they responded to a call just after 11 p.m. on the 2500 block of Barclay Street of
a small child who was not breathing. The officers noted that Meak was very calm and unconcerned
when they arrived.
He led them downstairs to a bedroom where Xiong was laying on her back unresponsive with her mouth
and eyes open. During the attempt to revive her, officers noticed black and purple bruises covering the
child's chest and stomach.
When Meak was asked if Xiong had been recently injured, he said that she fell and hit her head on a
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4/21/2016 Maplewood man admits to aggravating factors in beating death of child I Lillie Suburban Newspapers
space heater in the bedroom the night before.
During formal interviews with the Maplewood Police Department, Meak said that Xiong was the daughter
of his girlfriend, Lia Pearson, and because she worked a lot, he had been the child's caretaker for the
previous month, and that Xiong had been living with him for two and a half weeks.
Pearson lived in Farmington, and was last at Meak's house the previous Sunday or Monday, about four
or five days before the child's death.
According to media reports, Pearson was charged with child endangerment,and manslaughter for
ignoring signs of child abuse, and her case is still pending.
Also during police interviews, Meak revealed that every time he changed Xiong's diaper, she was
spanked but not to the point where she "pass[ed] out or anything."
He also shared with police that he thought the bruises on her torso happened when he "roughed her up
a little bit" while changing her diaper. He also admitted to shaking the little girl a few times.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Crime Scene Team took swabs and located semen on
Xiong's genital area. Meak denied being the culprit.
As part of the April 19 hearing, Meak admitted to squeezing Xiong around the chest area causing a rib to
fracture and hitting Xiong in the abdominal area at least three times, causing serious internal injuries.
The autopsy report revealed the toddler suffered a liver laceration, injuries to the pancreas and
duodenum, hemorrhaging in the transference colon, rib fracture, and extensive bruising all over the
body.
At the hearing, Meak also admitted to throwing Xiong toward a bed, causing her head and face to slam
against a wall. He said that he was aware Xiong was severely hurt, as she screamed and cried in pain,
yet did not call 911, the baby's mother or any other family members until several hours later after he
discovered Xiong was not breathing.
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