Middlesboro Kentucky is a small community with a population of less than 10,000 it is located between the pine in the Cumberland mountains nestled within an enormous meteorite crater which is the Middlesboro Basin Middlesboro is the only city within the continental United States that was built within a crater and the largest city in Southeastern Kentucky but it’s also where a girl named Elena rosaly humre was born on February 20th 2022 her parents a and Trey were both only 19 at the time of her birth Elena was a bright blue-eyed
baby with round chubby cheeks and Sandy brown hair she was described as goofy and always laughing by her family Elena also had an older sister who reportedly lived with her grandparents Elena’s mother’s social media showcased multiple videos of her dancing with her child soundtrack to Sentimental music Erica Lawson’s Tik Tok specifically appears to have been removed but clips from her account have been uploaded and continue to circulate on the platform as well as on YouTube as young couples often do Erica Lawson and Trey hembry ultimately
separated not long after Elena’s birth after relocating to Mount Vernon roughly an hour and a half Drive North of Middlesboro Elena’s mother maintained primary custody of Elena however some concerns regarding Elena’s welfare began to arise in the late spring early summer of 2023 it was during this period when Erica Lawson’s Uncle reported signs of CA to the middle Boro Police Department according to these reports her uncle allegedly witnessed burns on Elena’s knees as well as bruising on the child the police responded to these
allegations but were unable to locate the child or her mother when attempting to make contact only a few weeks after the reports of CA surface Erica brought her 17-month-old daughter to the Middlesboro appalachin Regional healthc care hospital on July 28th 20123 the child’s mother informed hospital staff that Elena was having trouble breathing allegedly Elena had been struggling to breathe for upwards of 45 minutes before her mother decided to seek medical attention shortly after arriving at the hospital it was evident that her
condition was Dire and Elena was airlifted to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville Tennessee it has since been reported via social media that Erica Lawson drove to the hospital in her vehicle while the child’s father Trey and his parents accompanied Elena in the helicopter the baby was placed on a respirator and stabilized by medical staff but tragically Elena failed to show any brain activity not long after arriving in Tennessee 2 days after being brought to the hospital Lena hembry passed away on July 30th 2023 a
currently unverified Knox County forensic document circulating on Tik Tok states that the child allegedly suffered skull trauma and had widespread bruising which included the child’s anal region the nature and area of the bruising suggests that Elena suffered not only physical violence but saay as well the police were immediately notified of the toddler’s death and 21-year-old Erica Lawson was subsequently arrested Elena’s mother was charged with manslaughter criminal abuse to a child Under 12 years old failure to report CA and want and
endangerment now want and endangerment refers to any crime that involves Reckless or wrongful conduct creating the risk of death or Serious injury to another days later on August 4th the Middlesboro Police Department released a statement regarding Elena Henry’s death on their Facebook page in addition to the evidence gathered in the investigation DNA samples were taken from multiple subjects questioned in the case the Middlesboro Police Department stated that these DNA samples had been set out for testing emphasizing that law
enforcement was making every effort to ensure that proper protocol was being followed to bring those responsible to Justice meanwhile the police urge the public to be patient the Middlesboro Police Department claimed that the DNA results could take up to a year to return due to the number of samples in the complexity of the case while building their case the state alleged that Eric Lawson had failed to provide Aid to the child after learning that Elena was struggling to breathe also on their Facebook page the Middlesboro
Police Department insinuated essay had occurred in the time leading up to Elena’s death for obvious reasons this caused an uproar on social media with individuals online wishing death upon the child’s mother Erica Lawson on August 27 second after waving a preliminary hearing date Erica Lawson was indicted on four counts including murder the other counts were failure to report child dependency neglect or abuse criminal abuse and wanton endangerment this last charge the state alleged was regarding her alleged drug use while
Elena was under her Care at same day prosecutor Lisa fugatti proudly toted on her Facebook page the following quote today I had the privilege of presenting the case against Erica alwon to a Bell County Grand I’m proud to say Erica losson now stands charged with the murder of her 17-month old baby post included a screenshot of the newly filed indictment the thread that ensued underneath this post exhibited the strong bias that it already formed amongst the Middlesboro Community regarding the alleged factors involved in Elena’s death the citizens
demanded to know the names of other culprits they thought were potentially involved in what their charges would be in response Commonwealth Attorney Lisa fugatti promised the public that the DNA analysis was being expedited the prosecutor boldly said that the results were going to come any day and that those involved would be brought to Justice on September 5th 2023 Eric awon was officially arraigned Commonwealth announced its intention to pursue the death penalty by filing a motion of aggravated circumstances in the case
this was boasted once again by Lisa fugatti on social media prosecutor fugatti promised the public that the Commonwealth would get the death penalty for Erica Lawson a vow she continued to post over the next few months this social media activity would inevitably become a major part of the defense’s exhibits in future proceedings on January 25th 2024 the defense Council for Erica Lawson filed a motion to strike what they were calling a defective indictment against the defendant and hopes to remove the death penalty the motion argues that the case
was rushed by the state but also highlights the aforementioned social media post by prosecutor fugatti as well as the police the document goes on to state that prosecutor fugatti posted several times on her Facebook account that Erica Lawson allowed and solicited Essay with multiple men while in the custody of her daughter as of the date of this recording it is uncertain which claims are true the state attorney did make these posts before any actual evidence of essay was returned from the forensic Labs the motion also noted that
prosecutor fuged was seeking re-election as the Commonwealth’s Attorney at the time these posts were made the defense’s most also exhibits the forensic DNA results conducted by KY Central laboratory Branch after they’ conclusively been returned those lab results distinctly showed that no male DNA was found during the examination of the child’s body the test also shows the completion date of August of 2023 the motion goes on to claim that the results were requested multiple times by the defense Council and it took
the Commonwealth of Kentucky 5 months to disclose this evidence despite the DNA test having been completed months earlier sometime on or after August 23rd 2023 the Commonwealth’s Attorney made social media post that DNA results were coming and arrests would be made what the Commonwealth did not include in these posts was that results indicated a complete absence of male DNA in or on Elena’s body these results were available in August of 2023 but mysteriously were only recently disclosed to the defense the defense’s motion regarding the death
penalty request was postponed however they were granted the ability to review the newly acquired evidence without anyone from the Commonwealth present which was also requested despite her social media Behavior being targeted as misconduct by the defense prosecutor fugatti took to Facebook yet again and said I quote testing is not complete on that that’s absolutely untrue there’s actually been I want to say four male DNA what we call Buckle standard DNA standards in order to compare that DNA that’s pending right
now despite prosecutor fugate’s claims on March 20th 2024 the Middlesboro police released a significant development publicly in this case publicly submitting to the fact that no male DNA was found after the analysis was conducted by the Kentucky State Police forensic lab breaking news tonight at 7 is the Middlesboro Police Department releasing a quote significant development tonight in the investigation of the death of baby Elena hembry hembry was the 17-month-old child at the center of a police investigation where police
say she died following child abuse in Bell County last July the Middlesboro Police Department says tonight that after an extensive investigation in DNA result the Kentucky State Police forensics lab found a lack of male DNA DNA man’s DNA in the analysis additionally after the release of the autopsy report Henry’s cause of death is now determined to be nonaccidental blunt force trauma officials previously saying they have never seen a case of abuse this severe and a child this young we’re going to continue this story for you as
the days go on the Middlesboro Police Department also revealed that the autopsy report conducted by the Kentucky medical examiner’s office cited the cause of death of Elena as non-accidental blunt force trauma law enforcement assured the public they now had the evidence needed to go forth with the case that they were now working with the FBI May of 2024 the defense Council for Eric awson put forth another motion for a change of venue due to widespread misinformation and public outrage toward the defendant Eric Lawson’s defense
attorneys established concerns for the defendant’s safety due to multiple death threats arising on various social media platforms the defense’s motion argued that having the proceedings in Bell County where the alleged crime occurred will almost ensure a mistrial the defense Council has since spoken to both local news outlets and People magazine emphasizing the weight of social media in this case considering the astronomical amount of online views attached to what they considered to be false information as of the date of this
recording neither the motion to remove the death penalty nor the motion for change of venue has been ruled upon by the Kentucky Circuit Court the former has been continued several times Erica awson is currently being held on a $1 million bond in the Bell County Kentucky Detention Center in Pineville Kentucky on August 1st 2023 a memorial was held for baby Elena in downtown Middlesboro the community released balloons and rallied for justice for baby Elena the grandparents of Elena reported to a local news station that Elena was an
angel the victim’s father Trey Henry who was not considered a suspect told the local media that his daughter’s death happened in the blink of an eye I cannot imagine man you’re going through you’re going through something no no fathers ever man you’re going through something no father you should ever have to go through parents never have to go through a death of a child man I’m sorry it breaks my heart and and I’m going to keep it short but man I promise you you’re in good hands and I know how good our and we will continue to do it you
know this is this is just a unforeseeable thing the I I hate this is but we’re gathered here today it is so good to see all of our community out here gathered to support this young man this family thank you all [Applause] me they’re going to have uh a vent here so if you would come in nobody wants to have to bury their child nobody wants to have down everybody that had knew about it had because anant child has to everybody well uh seeing how many people showed up has got to be a blessing to the family that the community has their
back and supports them um you know I didn’t really have any kind of message or anything to betray just the Lord moved upon my heart Monday morning and you know that we needed to come together as a community to console and to lift up and encourage the family and and pretty much out a challenge to the community that if they see something that ain’t right say something let people know that this ain’t adding up this is not going on right so uh we just want people to be more alert uh people to be more engaged to know their neighbor to know what’s
going on in the house across the street be nosy you know we we don’t want this to ever happen again in this community or anywhere else the happiest thought the rest of my life I couldn’t tell you it’s not even hit me yet I don’t think I’m even how toope with it yet how to grieve yet I don’t have I’ve not had 5 minutes but you got to stay strong with everybody else until we get justicea that’s it do justice for my daughter thank you so much a Facebook group known as Elena’s Army was soon created and is a driving
force in the Justice for baby Elena movement on social media platforms on September 23rd 2023 the group held another vigil outside of the Middlesboro City Hall urging the community to keep fighting for baby Elena supporters expressed the need for Urgent lawful action against the perpetrators that members of the group believed were culpable based on alleged evidence shared within the online community a former caretaker of Elena spoke at the rally describing their former morning routine together they said every morning
she got up she would crawl or walk across the hall to my room and I’d leave my door cracked and she would come sling it open so hard it would bounce off the wall I’d roll over and I’d go I’d tell her every morning good morning beautiful are you ready for breakfast we would go downstairs and nine times out of 10 I fixed her half doll size blueberry pancakes so she could hold them in her hands and me and her would have breakfast every morning a petition that can be found on change.
org for the passing of Elena’s law was created by two sisters from Middlesboro which calls for harsher penalties for CA in the state of Kentucky this would include the death penalty for offenders of children under the age of 12 currently the petition has over 24,000 signatures from registered voters within the Commonwealth of Kentucky on what would have been Elena’s second birthday hundreds gathered again in Middlesboro Center for a candle it vigil on February 20th 2024 the mayor declared the date Elena hembry day in memory of her sign
proclaiming no justice no peace hung from the center of the table adorned with photos of the baby candles flowers and stuffed animals local donated meals to the event as well as to the families of Elena that day a local citizen addressed the media and he stated that he had never heard such a heinous crime committed against an innocent baby but that he had never seen such immense communal support another citizen lamented but as a mother she could not imagine such an atrocity there are several groups on Facebook that have
formed regards to justice for baby Elena they were formed by several concerned citizens from both within and outside the Middlesboro Community there’s also another petition on change.org created by Benji Baldwin a man who resides a few hours outside of Millsboro Benji is the father of Emma a toddler who was killed in 2012 by her mother and then boyfriend in a similar case Benji was the founder of the group Justice for Emma which eventually became justice for all kids and since shifted its focus to Elena’s cause there have been several other Vig
ual petitions social media groups and message boards created in Elena’s name ER Lawson’s case has spread like wildfire amongst the True Crime Tik Tok Community fueled by Facebook groups and supposed Insider information shared across platforms one of the rumors circulating on social media asserts that Elena had suffered burns from a pipe used to smoke Crystal another alleges that the child had been Naran several times the most pervasive and monstrous allegation against Erica Lawson claims that the mother allow six men to essay
her infant daughter this has been promoted by many influencers some of whom have thousands to millions of followers some go as far to say that Erica Lawson sold her daughter to men in exchange for drugs social media allegations have been made that four to six of the suspects are currently in police custody and that two men are still walking the streets many citizens also claim to know who these men are cries that these alleged male perpetrators be brought to justice is an incessant demand of social media posts
involving Justice for baby Elena these posts continue as of the date of this recording an alleged text message screenshot between the child’s parents has circulated Within These groups and showcases the mother stating that an individual had assaulted Elena a recording of a phone call between Elena’s father Trey and another alleged perpetrator has spread across various platforms as well another claim in involves an acquaintance of both parents who was allegedly seen by Trey with a bloody baby footprint on his shirt
shortly after visiting with Eric awson it’s vital to note that aside from the official cause of death and the lack of male DNA regarding an essay none of the aformentioned details surrounding Elena’s death have been verified as fact Erica Lawson’s defense council’s aention January motion is one of the only court documents that is publicly accessible this motion to dismiss remove the death penalty references the prosecution’s delay in providing any of the promised evidence to the defense regarding proof of the aggravated circumstances as it
currently stands no proof of aggravating circumstances has been produced by the Commonwealth the motion also references the Commonwealth’s prosecuting attorney utilizing the Lawson case and the pursuit of the death penalty as an attempt to Garner support for her upcoming re-election which she lost to her opponent in May of 2024 little to no information is publicly available regarding coloss and herself aside from the alleged involvement in Elena’s death however Facebook groups and various unverified social media sources alleged
that the child’s mother struggled with substance use before her arrest this Theory may have Arisen from Elena’s father Trey regarding his past criminal history in 2020 the child’s father was arrested and hit with a first degree drug charge for possession of crystal in addition he was charged with receiving stolen property under $10,000 regarding the stolen vehicle he was driving at the time without a license it’s also crucial to note that Trey was never considered a suspect in his daughter’s murder however he was arrested in August of 2023 for
possession of weed at a local Walmart in terms of what to expect next in this case Greg Coulson Eric Lawson’s defense attorney released a statement regarding what he calls misinformation being spread about his client on the internet he said and I quote we cannot contribute to the circus that has been created in this case rumor and speculation rarely lead to the truth we ask the community to let the legal process work and be confident that the real facts will come out this same social media Rumor Mill is the Crux of why the defense is currently
seeking a change of venue outside of southeast Kentucky it’s also important to note the FBI is now involved in the case as well meaning more developments are sure to come as the investigation unfolds and we’ll keep an eye out for updates as they become available although the Commonwealth of Kentucky has seen a drop in CA in neglect since 2018 by 48% according to the child Mal treatment report released in 2022 the state does have a 60% higher rate of it than the rest of the country Elena was cremated by her family
a comment on her obituary reads as follows that humans can do these things with no conscience leaves me with no words what words could ever explain this better to be dropped in the deepest part of the ocean with a millstone around their necks than to harm the little ones that belong to me play with the Angels Elena your suffering here is over now as of the date of this recording in August of 2024 there is no set trial date just yet as far as we the public are concerned the Commonwealth of Kentucky fully intends to pursue the death
penalty against Elena’s mother Erica Lawson she is currently being held on a $1 million bail it has been established that Erica Lawson is the prime suspect and is suspected to be responsible for Elena’s death with her cause of death being listed as a non-accidental brain injury however we just don’t know how or to what extent now keep in mind Erica is considered innocent until she’s found guilty in a court of law however the issue in terms of Elena receiving Justice is the premature release of unestablished evidence on social media
by both the state and local police which could very well jeopardize the entire case against Erica if the result is a mistre Tri these missteps in the investigation May inadvertently allow a baby killer to walk free let’s hope not as this case is still unfolding
