Decomposed body of baby found in shopping bag of woman who punched cop at Virginia mall

ROANOKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA: A woman was arrested on Sunday, July 19, after she was found behaving erratically in a Virginia mall and for punching an officer, who sustained a minor injury. However, after her arrest, a horrific discovery was made when officers found a partially decomposing body of a baby in the woman’s shopping bag. The woman has been identified as Mandy Lavonne Lacy and "is believed to be a transient". The body of the baby was found inside the 34-year-old’s grocery-style bag on Sunday at Tanglewood Mall. A statement from Roanoke County police read: “She has been charged with assaulting a police officer. Additional charges are pending further investigation.”

Also, according to courthouse warrants, Lacy has a mental illness, however, specifications of it have not been revealed. While a Commonwealth of Virginia search warrant has stated that officials are actively investigating the incident and are comparing the DNA of Lacy with that of the baby found dead in her bag. The warrant has asked for the DNA swabs to be taken from the woman -- currently held in the Western Virginia Regional Jail -- to confirm if Lacy is the mother of the deceased child. The warrant also stated that the baby’s body was found wrapped in a jacket inside the bag.

According to reports, the warrant was launched related to an offense greatly described as a “violation of Section 18.2-32 of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended, to wit: Murder.” However, police said that does not mean Lacy will be charged with murder. The next step into the case will only be determined after results from the Medical Examiner come in.

In another incident, a naked Ukrainian woman was arrested walking down the street with her teenage daughter's severed head. Tatiana Pyanova, 38, from Kharkiv city, allegedly killed her 13-year-old daughter Kristina. She was taken into custody on May 1 after she was found walking naked in the streets. The woman was reportedly carrying a knife in one hand and a plastic bag containing the head of the teenager in the other. When officials reportedly went to arrest her, Pyanova threatened them with the knife. “When they arrived at the scene, police found a citizen in an inadequate condition. In one hand she held a knife, in the other a package containing a severed female head. The woman refused to explain anything to police officers,” a law enforcement statement said.

Later, when Pyanova was taken to a court where she was remanded in custody pending a murder investigation, she seemed confused and denied her identity. The woman also told journalists that she did not want to communicate. She said, "leave me alone”. Meanwhile, relatives and neighbors of Pyanova have claimed that she was a loving mother. An unidentified woman, who claimed to be Kristina’s grandmother, said: “I don’t believe that Tatiana could do that, I don’t believe it. She is a great mother, she would move a mountain for her daughter. Something must have happened in the house. They must have drugged her or something, she couldn’t do that.” A neighbor also said the same about the woman as he described her “normal” adding: “The girl was cheerful, good, went to school. What can I say?”