MANITOWOC – Lavell L. Nance and Catherine D. Carter are facing new felony charges in the 2022 death of a 3-year-old child.
The child’s death in October 2022 was caused by physical abuse, the new criminal complaint states.
Nance, 41, was initially arrested Nov. 10, 2022, after the investigation. He was charged with felony possession of designer drugs with intent to sell, felony maintain drug trafficking place and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
In a plea and sentencing hearing Aug. 22, 2023, the last two charges were dismissed. His sentence was withheld, and he was given three years of probation.
He was arrested Aug. 25 and is now in custody at Manitowoc County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Carter, 37, and the child’s mother, was also arrested in 2022. She has been in custody at the Manitowoc County Jail on a now $3,000 bond since her arrest three years ago.
According to the complaint, key detectives with the Manitowoc Police Department in the initial investigation of the child’s death had retired or left the department in the past three years.
A different detective familiarized themselves with the case so Carter’s case in the Manitowoc County Circuit Court could continue.
The follow-up included the review of more than 20 reports to Child Protective Services in Brown and Manitowoc counties against Carter and text messages from neighbors and family members closest to Carter and Nance.
A review of those documents led the detective to conduct follow-up interviews with several witnesses who said they had either seen or heard children in Carter’s home being abused or neglected.
One witness said the 3-year-old child would be forced to stay on a toilet training chair for hours if they urinated on themselves. They also said they saw Nance beat them with fists, a stick and a belt.
Nance has been charged with physical abuse of a child, repeated acts with a high probability of great bodily harm, a Class D felony.
Carter has also been charged with physical abuse, repeated acts with a high probability of great bodily harm. In addition, she still faces the same charges from 2022: possession of designer drugs with intent to deliver, maintain drug trafficking place, a felony charge of neglecting a child and two misdemeanor charges of neglecting a child.
While no attorney is listed in either case yet, Carter and Nance are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Oct. 23.
Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc man, woman face new charges in 2022 3-year-old child’s death
Reporting by Alisa M. Schafer, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
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