A trial is set to commence in Louisiana early next year in a grisly case of a child's apparent murder after the girl's mother is said to have rejected a plea deal from prosecutors.

Lanaya Cardwell, 28, turned down a deal that would have given her 10 years or less in prison on a charge of cruelty to juveniles, Baton Rouge ABC affiliate WBRZ reported . Instead, her entire future will be on the line when she appears in court in February on a charge of second-degree murder.

The case is more than four years old, but its gruesome details have not been forgotten. It began on the morning of Sept. 4, 2021, when 2-year-old Nevaeh Allen was at her Baton Rouge home with her mother, Cardwell, and Cardwell's boyfriend, 34-year-old Phillip Gardner.

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