Tot meth death spurs counts

The mother of a 5-month-old girl who died after ingesting a bag of methamphetamine, and her boyfriend were charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court.

Mary Joyce Lacey, 22, and 43-year-old Raymond Daniel Chesley were each charged with desecration of a dead body, a third-degree felony. In addition, Chesley was charged with child endangerment, a first-degree felony.

On Dec. 28, Murray police were called to a house near 20 West and 4900 South where they found Estella Lacey dead on a bed. But it appeared to investigators that the baby did not die at that location.

The next day, Mary Lacey admitted to police that her daughter had died during the early morning hours at Chesley's residence near 1300 West and 4600 South, according to court documents. The couple then loaded Estella's body into Chesley's truck and took her to the Murray address to avoid having police going to the Taylorsville residence, court documents state.

Mary Lacey also told detectives that Estella had ingested meth the day before that the child found in a plastic bag. Lacey and Chesley reportedly took the infant to a neighbor's house around midnight to be checked by a friend who told them she appeared to be OK, said Taylorsville police detective Rosie Rivera. The friend was not a doctor and it was unknown if she had any medical background.

The couple did not call 911 or take Estella to a doctor.

It was during the final several hours of Estella's life that she suffered through several stages of meth overdose, Rivera said.

Mary Lacey was ordered to appear at a yet to be determined court date.

Chesley remained Wednesday in the Salt Lake County Jail on $1,000,000 bail on the Utah charges. In addition, Chesley is being held without bail for violating parole stemming from a a felony harassment charge in Colorado.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com