VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A mom has been charged with child abuse and neglect after her 2-year-old child was found dead in a hotel room at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Monday.
Virginia Beach Police said they responded to the 3600 block of Atlantic Avenue around 3:30 a.m. and found the child dead and the mother experiencing a medical emergency.
Officials said the child's cause of death is unknown and the manner of death is not apparent at this time. However, the Virginia Beach Detective Bureau is investigating this case as a suspicious death.
A search warrant obtained by News 3 said that a friend of the child's mother, Leandra Andrade, called Virginia Beach Police after receiving a text message from Andrade saying "they would look down on [the friend] from heaven."
Andrade also posted pictures of her 2-year-old daughter on her Instagram, speaking about her in the past tense.
After Andrade texted the friend her location, police responded to the address and found Andrade unconscious and her child dead at the Cutty Sark Motel.
Police performed life-saving measures on Andrade using Narcan before she was taken to the Virginia Beach General Hospital for treatment.
According to the Metropolitan Police, Andrade left Washington, D.C. after a custody case last week and was last seen in the city on Friday. The MPD was made aware of Andrade's potential whereabouts in Virginia Beach, which initiated the VBPD's assistance.
According to documents from the sheriff's office, Andrade is being charged with child abuse and neglect. Police also said that she is still being processed, but she's in the system.
The child's father, Fabio Andrade Jr., released the following statement regarding his daughter's death in which he said he was awarded temporary sole legal custody of the child.
My daughter Lanoix loved life and loved to make her friends and family smile. I am devastated that the opportunity for Lanoix to continue living a happy and loving life was senselessly taken from her.
I have been fighting tirelessly since March of this year for full physical and legal custody in order to provide my daughter the life she deserved. The court ruling last week awarding me temporary sole legal custody was one of several successful steps toward that goal. But that ruling did not affect the existing, court-ordered temporary shared physical custody schedule that put Lanoix with her mother last weekend.
The family and friends of Lanoix ask for privacy at this time so that we may mourn our beloved angel.
Andrade's next bond hearing was scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m.
