Mom gets life for killing toddler found 'tightly wound' in foil in trash can

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (TCN) -- A judge sentenced a 23-year-old woman to life in prison after she was convicted of killing her toddler daughter, leaving her body in a trash can, and covering her remains with foil.

Sullivan County court records show a jury convicted Megan Boswell of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, one count of tampering with evidence, 11 counts of false reports to officer, one count of abuse of corpse, and one count of refuse/neglect to comply death under suspicious circumstances in connection with the death of 15-month-old Evelyn Boswell. WJHL-TV reports Boswell was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for the murder charges, but she will be sentenced in May for the others.

Evelyn Boswell was reported missing to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 18, 2020, but family members said she had not been seen since Dec. 26, 2019. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Amber Alert the next day. On March 6, 2020, TBI detectives executed a warrant at one of Boswell’s family’s properties and discovered the girl’s remains.

TBI Agent Brian Fraley testified at a hearing in September 2022 about how Megan Boswell’s father reached out to the agency and requested they search a shed on his property. WJHL reports Fraley said the father "believed it may have been valuable for us to look in it," and when they did, they discovered the toddler’s remains in a trash can behind a playhouse.

Evelyn Boswell was placed in a trash bags and blankets underneath additional layers of bags.

The Tennessee Lookout reports forensic pathologist Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan described Evelyn Boswell as being "tightly wound" in a blanket and wrapped in aluminum foil. Mileusnic-Polchan said Evelyn Boswell was "sort of compressed in the can" and her facial features were "pretty much flattened."

Boswell reportedly claimed she was co-sleeping with her daughter and her boyfriend, and when they woke up, Evelyn Boswell was unresponsive.

The girl’s cause of death was listed as asphyxiation.

TBI Director David Rausch said in a statement following Boswell’s verdict, "Five years ago, we began working alongside the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the Office of the 2nd Judicial District Attorney General to pursue justice for Baby Evelyn. Today, justice was finally served. Every single person who worked on this case should be commended. It was both challenging and heartbreaking, but they never wavered from their mission to ensure the person responsible for Evelyn’s death was held accountable."

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