Spouse of Baltimore mother pleads guilty to child abuse resulting in death of 4-year-old Malachi Lawson

Baltimore Sun - 5/9/2023

The spouse of an East Baltimore woman convicted in the death of her 4-year-old son, who was scalded in a bath and dumped in the trash in 2019, pleaded guilty in his death on Tuesday.

Malachi Lawson died more than a week after suffering burns so severe that his mother, Alicia Lawson, and her spouse, Shatika Lawson, reported seeing his skin floating in the bathtub.

Afraid they would be charged with crimes and that the boy would be taken from them, the women tried to treat his wounds at home. Nine days later, Alicia Lawson awoke to find her son unresponsive. She reported him missing, but actually wrapped his body in a blanket, took a Lyft across Baltimore and left him in a dumpster in Gwynn Oak.

Police said someone found Malachi’s body in the dumpster Aug. 3, 2019, and they soon charged the couple in his death. Alicia Lawson, 29, pleaded guilty in August 2021 to one count of child abuse resulting in death and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The judge suspended the rest of her life sentence.

Shatika Lawson, 44, pleaded guilty to the same offense Tuesday, striking a deal with the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office that would cap her punishment at life in prison with all but 33 years suspended, but allow her lawyer to argue it should be as low as 18 years of active incarceration.

Sentencing for Shatika Lawson will happen on another date.

Relatives remembered Malachi as a loveable boy with an infectious smile, recalling that he loved watching the TV show “Paw Patrol” and adored the Disney character Mickey Mouse.

The little boy was laid to rest in a tiny white casket. At his funeral, the program was designed like a comic book that portrayed Malachi as a superhero who went to heaven.

Malachi once lived in foster care, but had been returned to his mother’s care.

According to charging documents, the women told police they thought medical professionals would notify Child Protective Services if they saw Malachi had burns from his waist to his feet and that the authorities would take him away again.

After dropping her son’s body in the dumpster, Alicia Lawson reported him missing, telling police he’d disappeared from his grandmother’s house.

But during an analysis of her cellphone, the FBI found that Alicia Lawson had searched the internet for trash collection sites in Baltimore.

Alicia Lawson’s attorney previously said she suffered neglect and trauma as a child, while Shatika Lawson’s lawyer sought to downplay her culpability.

Shatika Lawson didn’t know Malachi died until homicide detectives interviewed her, defense attorney Roya Hanna previously said. Shatika Lawson had wanted to take him in for medical attention but couldn’t because she wasn’t his biological mother, Hanna said.

This article may be updated.