| 3/11/2017 - A trial date has been set in the case of a mother charged with the death of her missing daughter.
Lena Lunsford was in a Lewis County court room Friday where a trial date of June 19 was set.
Lunsford was arrested in November and charged for the death of her three-year-old daughter Aliayah.
Aliayah has been missing since September 2011.
Lewis County Deputies say witnesses observed Lunsford strike Aliayah in the head while inside their home. Aliayah then fell to the ground from the injury, according to the complaint.
Lunsford did not initially provide help or medical assistance and did not allow others to help when Aliayah was visibly suffering, according to the criminal complaint.
Deputies say Lunsford then covered up the crime by creating a fake story, destroying evidence, concealing the victim's body, and instructing witnesses to conceal what happened.
According to the complaint, the information came from witness testimony and physical evidence.
She remains in custody in Lewis County where bond was set at $250,000.
ORIGINAL STORY - A Lewis County mother has been indicted on murder and other charges in the death of her 3-year-old daughter who was reported missing in 2011.
Lena Marie Lunsford, 34, was indicted on one felony charge of murder of a child by a parent, guardian or custodian or other person by refusal or failure to provide necessities; one felony charge of death of a child by a parent, guardian or custodian or other person by child abuse; one felony charge of child abuse resulting in injury; and one felony charge of concealment of a deceased human body.
In November 2016, the Lewis County mother accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter stood before a West Virginia judge for the first time.
Investigators say Lena Lunsford hit her daughter Aliayah in the head with a hand held, solid object inside their home in September 2011. Deputies say she took steps to conceal the child's body and instructed others to not tell the truth about what happened.
She's also accused of not getting Aliayah medical attention, and refusing to allow others to help her even though it was obvious she was hurt.
Aliayah's disappearance launched a massive investigation. Her body has never been found.
After authorities said witnesses came forward, police arrested Lunsford in Florida where she had been living.
The Lunsfords lost all parental rights in 2013. At a hearing in 2012, a circuit court judge found "that the parents had more knowledge about Aliayah's whereabouts than they revealed but refused to provide that information to the court."
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