An Indiana couple is facing preliminary neglect allegations after a 4-year-old boy was found dead in a basement closet, a case that investigators say is raising devastating new questions about what the child may have been enduring inside the home.
According to WISH, the boy was found on March 23 after one of his siblings discovered him in the closet. His mother, Angel Lovely, and her boyfriend, Nicholas Bergdoll, were both home at the time, but told police they had been asleep when he died.
The child, identified by Fox 59 as Malichi Lovely, had reportedly been living with several serious medical conditions. He was nonverbal, used a wheelchair, and relied on a feeding tube after being born premature and later developing cerebral palsy.
But what investigators say they learned from the other children in the home made the case even more disturbing.
Siblings Said the Closet Was Part of His Daily Life
Lovely reportedly told police she only put her son in the closet occasionally, saying it happened when he would not stop screaming or when she needed a break.
Her other children described something very different.
According to investigators, the siblings said Malichi would stay in the closet for long stretches and that their mother regularly locked him inside. One child also told police they had heard him gagging before his death, but did not alert their mother because it was not unusual.
Police have not yet announced an official cause of death, and the investigation is still ongoing. Lovely reportedly told authorities she believed the boy had been aspirating before he died.
By the time of his death, Malichi weighed just 22 pounds.
Court records cited by WISH also showed that Indiana’s Department of Child Services had previously removed him from his mother’s care because of medical neglect. He was later returned, despite the agency reportedly recommending against it.
That detail has only added to the heartbreak surrounding the case.
People Around the Family Say They Tried to Sound the Alarm
Multiple people reportedly raised concerns about the home long before Malichi’s death.
A neighbor told Fox 59 she had contacted child welfare authorities several times because she was worried not only about Malichi, but about the other children as well.
She called the case “completely preventable” and said several people in the area had tried to bring attention to what they believed was happening.
Court records obtained by the station reportedly back that up, showing that friends, relatives, and neighbors had made repeated complaints over a two-year period.
The family had been staying with Bergdoll’s sister at the time of the boy’s death. She told investigators that Lovely did not seem especially affectionate toward her children, though she said she had not personally witnessed physical abuse.
Bergdoll also allegedly admitted to police that he did not agree with how Lovely treated her son, but said he stayed out of it.
The child’s biological father, Bear Schmidt, later told Fox 59 that he is still struggling to process what happened and regrets ignoring warning signs that something was wrong.
As of March 27, 2026, Lovely and Bergdoll had been arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent causing death, but formal charges had not yet been filed by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
The case is still unfolding, but for many people following it, the hardest part is the same question: how many warnings does it take before a child is finally protected?
If you suspect child abuse, the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-422-4453.
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