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More than three months after six-month-old Kha'liya Bridgewater's body was found in a wooded area off Pittman Road in Kansas City Missouri, her mother has been arrested and could spend several years in prison.
Raeleena Barlett is charged with abandoning an infant corpse, but it's not the first time she's been brought up by authorities.
In the beginning of the investigation, DNA from a buccal swab connected the baby with her mother.
According to the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney office, Barlett admitted to police that her baby died on May 6 — seven days before police found the baby in the woods.
Barlett's father described the state of their relationship in the months leading up to the arrest.
"She has listened to me. She knows my feelings on this. I'm upset about it," said Marty Lammers, the father of Barlett. "At the same time, we're still waiting on the investigation to be over."
When he spoke to his daughter on Friday, it was from jail.
"At the end of the day, she is hurting right now," Lammers said. "She regrets a lot that took place and wishes she could have her baby back, but she has to cope with this."
Baby Kha'liya was Lammer's youngest grandchild, but he didn't get much time with her.
"The loss of a grand baby, I don't think you ever get over that," he said. "I got her memorial and pictures to look at — it's a daily reminder of who she was and what we had in our life."
As grandfather to the baby and father to his daughter, who he said stands by her innocence, he's torn.
"I told [Raeleena] straight up — don't run, don't be hiding from them, don't tell lies. Take it straight up and take the actions coming to you," Lammers said. "She knows where I stand, how I feel, but I'm not going to leave her and I'm not going to throw her to the curb and say, 'This took place; you're no longer my child.' I've been her dad for 25 years."
When the family gave baby Kha'liya a send-off two months ago, they were waiting for answers to questions they still have.
"I was preparing myself for the statements made. No 911 call and all that," Lammers said. "Being a parent and raising five kids of my own for 30 years, common sense would tell you they were gonna get you for something."
In KSHB 41's initial reporting, police said there were several witnesses who claimed the mother reached out to them about the baby's death.
They also said she asked for financial help with cremation before the death was reported to police.
The medical examiner's report determined the cause of the baby's death was undetermined. According to the medical examiner, there were no signs of physical abuse.
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