Man, woman plead not guilty in North Las Vegas toddler death

A man and woman who abandoned a teenage girl with her 3-year-old sister, who later died, pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple charges, including murder.

Jondrew Lachaux, 39, faces 22 counts, including, first- and second-degree murder, one count of concealing evidence, three counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment, nine counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm, four counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual assault of a minor under 16.

Kellie Phillips, 38, faces six counts, including first- and second-degree murder, three counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

Authorities have said Lachaux impregnated his 17-year-old stepdaughter and abandoned her with her toddler sister, who later died in North Las Vegas.

The 3-year-old had been born 29 weeks premature and “had advanced respiratory issues her entire life,” prosecutors said during an indictment hearing last week.

Lachaux was arrested April 6 after detectives found the toddler’s body and the teen’s malnourished infant. The teen mom and her dead sister are two of seven children in the Lachaux-Phillips family, according to police. Phillips was arrested April 7. She was about five weeks pregnant when she appeared in court Thursday, according to her attorney, Ben Nadig.

“We’re pursuing a battered woman approach,” Nadig said after a brief hearing, adding that Phillips “actively tried to get away” from Lachaux, but “he has tracked her down a number of times.”

She filed a protective order against him while the two were living in the Oakland, Calif., area, the lawyer said.

Phillips didn’t know her daughter was pregnant, police have said.

The teen gave birth at their home in the 6600 block of Wood Thrush Place, near the north 215 Beltway between Decatur Boulevard and Aliante Parkway. She didn’t have medical attention.

Without enough food, the teen, her infant and the toddler became malnourished, police said. The toddler, who had breathing problems, eventually died.

After her sister died, police said, the teen called Lachaux. He told her to hide the body in plastic and a stroller box, according to the prosecutor. He came back to Las Vegas in late March and made the teen help him move the body into the back seat of a broken-down car in the family garage.

Lachaux then gave his stepdaughter baby formula and put her and the baby on the street, police said. He didn’t want his wife to find out he’d fathered the child, they said.

Chief Judge David Barker set trial for Lachaux and Phillips for April 2016.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter:@randompoker