A stepmother and Mother fatally scalded their 4-year-son in the bathtub. They got rid of the body by putting it in the dumpster. Shatika Lawson (stepmom) will be sentenced in December for her part in the fatal injury of Malachi Lawson. Alicia Lawson, who is the biological mother, has already been sentenced. She pleaded guilty back in 2021 to the same charge. She is now serving a life sentence with 30 years suspended. For the fatal injury of her son Malachi Lawson. The child’s body was found in a dumpster, just one day after Alicia reported her son missing. In the beginning she told the authorities that she last saw her son on his grandmother's porch. After questioning, she eventually revealed that his remains were dumped 10 miles away from their home. According to legal documents, Alicia and Shatika were giving Malachi a bath after

he had an accident. While they washed his clothes, they realized that he had "serious" burns on his body from his waist down. The burns were so bad that the women could see skin floating in the bath water. This is what they told the authorities. They did not call emergency, out of "fear that the child would be taken from them, that they would get in trouble for what happened to the child and their past history with child protective services” according to reports. So they decided to treat him at home. Alicia said that when she woke one morning, she had found her son was unresponsive. She decided to wrap him in a blanket. She then called a Lyft. She directed the driver to take her to a dumpster 10 miles from her home. The mother’s partner Shatika also could serve life for her part in this crime.