Missing toddler was reportedly wrapped in blanket and tinfoil, placed upside-down in trash can
09/27/2022 2:22 pm PDT
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (TCD) -- New testimony from a medical examiner is shedding light on the brutal death of a missing 15-month-old girl who was found inside a trash can in a playhouse.
Megan Boswell is heading to trial soon for allegedly killing her daughter, Evelyn. Megan was charged in August 2020 with two counts of murder, one count of aggravated child abuse, one count of aggravated child neglect, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of abuse of a corpse, one count of failure to report a death under suspicious circumstances, and 12 counts of false reports.
Evelyn was reported missing in February 2020, but she reportedly had not been seen since Dec. 26, 2019. On March 6, 2020, investigators found remains on Megan’s relative’s property, and they were positively identified March 12, 2020, as Evelyn.
According to WJHL-TV, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agent testified in court last week as part of a hearing about using photos and evidence from when Evelyn’s body was found.
Special Agent Brian Fraley reportedly said in court that Megan’s father called detectives and told them about a shed they should look into. Investigators went to the home to search the shed and found a playhouse inside. Fraley said Evelyn’s body was "in that playhouse in the trash can."
Evelyn was reportedly wearing a purple fleece onesie, the same one that was described in her missing persons report.
Fraley reportedly said in court, "I observed a leg and a foot attached on top of this trash wrapped in that same described fleece blanket."
Chief Medical Examiner for Knox and Anderson Counties, Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, also testified and spoke about Evelyn’s cause of death, which had not previously been revealed, according to WJHL. She said Evelyn died from asphyxiation in four places, and not in a co-sleeping accident that Megan had previously argued.
Tennessee Lookout reports Evelyn was "tightly wound" in a blanket, wrapped in aluminum foil, placed a trash bag, and left in a dumpster upside-down. Mileusnic-Polchan testified the little girl’s head was "severely overextended" and her facial features were "pretty much flattened."
According to WJHL, Mileusnic-Polchan said Evelyn’s placement in the trash can caused additional asphyxiation and there was an "unnatural folding of the body." Her body was reportedly severely decomposed and had been eroded by flies and maggots.
WJHL reports Megan’s trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 6, 2023.
MORE:
- Mother of Evelyn Boswell Indicted on Numerous Charges, Including Murder, 8/19/2020 - TBI
- AMBER Alert: Evelyn Mae Boswell, 2/22/2020 - TBI
- TBI agent describes finding Evelyn Boswell’s body - WJHL
- Forensic pathologist testifies Evelyn Boswell died by asphyxiation - WJHL
- Testimony reveals Sullivan County toddler died after being placed in trash can - Tennessee Lookout
- Judge pushes Megan Boswell’s trial back to Feb. 6, 2023 - WJHL
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