Mom Also Charged In Burning Death Of Louisiana Baby; 2 In Custody

NATCHITOCHES, LA — The mother of a baby boy whose severely burned body was found near railroad tracks in Natchitoches Parish has now been charged in his murder, authorities said. Hannah Barker, 22, is the second person charged in the horrific death of 6-month-old Levi Cole Ellerbe.

Barker initially told authorities the baby had been kidnapped by intruders who sprayed her with a chemical believed to be mace the evening of July 17. She said she fled to escape them and discovered her son missing when she circled back to her home in the Mayberry Mobile Home Park.

Barker, who was arrested Wednesday, is being held in the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center awaiting a 24-hour hearing, according to a police news release. She was charged with being a principal to first-degree murder in her son’s death.

RELATED: Kidnapped Baby Dies From Burns; Charges Filed

Previously arrested was Felicia Marie-Nicole Smith, 25, who was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder. Additional charges against Smith, police said.

Police didn’t say how the two women know each other. No further information will be released “due to the extremely rapidly growing nature of this investigation,” the police department said.

“The Natchitoches Police Department and the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office have worked tirelessly together in order to learn the facts behind this homicide,” the release said. “The two agencies have worked as one since this investigation’s conception through extremely long days and nights with little to no sleep.”

The baby was still alive when he was found near railroad tracks on Breda Avenue. He was taken to the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans, where he died of his injuries.

Photo of Hannah Barker via Natchitoches Police Department