NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP) – A Louisiana prosecutor says a mother accused in her infant son’s death asked her girlfriend to kill the baby.
Hanna Nicole Barker is being held without bond. A judge ruled Friday that there’s probable cause to charge her as a principal to murder in the death of 6-month-old Levi Cole Ellerbee.
The Town Talk of Alexandria reports that defense attorney Dhu Thompson argued Friday in Natchitoches that the only evidence against Barker is a statement from the woman accused of setting the baby on fire. Thompson says Felicia Marie-Nicole Smith is just trying to get a better deal for herself.
Smith has been charged with first-degree murder, which can bring the death penalty.
Barker has not been indicted. A grand jury has heard the case against her.
