BATON ROUGE — Lanaya Cardwell was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison on an attempted cruelty charge in connection with the death of her 2-year-old daughter. 

In October 2025, Phillip Gardner was convicted of killing his then-girlfriend Cardwell's daughter, Nevaeh Allen, and hiding her body in the woods in Hancock County, Mississippi. Gardner initially told police that the toddler disappeared after he fell asleep, kicking off an intense search that summoned the FBI and Louisiana State Police to the Belaire neighborhood of Baton Rouge.

Cardwell was found guilty in February of attempted second-degree cruelty to juveniles. She had been accused of punching Allen in the stomach before her death. Cardwell was originally charged with second-degree murder, but prosecutors downgraded that charge in January. 

Her 14-year sentence includes credit for time served, a mental health evaluation, therapy and counseling, treatment for grief and trauma, and parenting courses.