Woman charged in Natchitoches baby's death

Melissa Gregory | The Town Talk

Show Caption Hide Caption Baby dies after kidnapping, fire in Natchitoches Authorities continued to investigate Wednesday after a 6-month-old boy was kidnapped and then found in a fire on Tuesday night (July 17, 2018) in Natchitoches. The boy later died at a Shreveport hospital.

A 25-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of an infant last week in Natchitoches.

Felicia Marie-Nicole Smith of Natchitoches was booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center on July 21 in connection to the death of 6-month-old Levi Cole Ellerbe.

More: Natchitoches baby who died after kidnapping to be buried Friday

The Natchitoches Police Department has instituted an "information blackout" regarding the case, and Chief Micky Dove refused to answer questions Tuesday regarding a rumored relationship between Smith and Levi's mother, Hanna Barker.

Smith remains in jail with no bond set.

According to the department, the boy was kidnapped from his mother on the night of July 17. The first release about the incident stated that Barker said she had opened her door after hearing beating on it, and two suspects sprayed her in the face with what she believed to be Mace.

More: Natchitoches baby who died after kidnapping to be buried Friday

She escaped the suspects, but soon discovered that Levi was missing. She called 911 to report it.

The baby, only days from being 7 months old, was found just more than an hour later in a fire that had been set beside an elevated railroad track on Breda Avenue, about a mile-and-a-half away from the trailer park on the La. Highway 1 Bypass from where he was taken.

Levi was in critical condition with "obvious burns" to his body, according to police.

He first was taken to Natchitoches Regional Medical Center, but later was airlifted to University Hospital in Shreveport. He died there early Wednesday.

The investigation, being conducted by the Natchitoches Police Department and the Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal, is continuing.