LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A North Las Vegas couple have agreed to plead guilty to charges regarding the death of their daughter.
In August 2018, toddler Zaela Walker was reported missing by her grandmother. She was last seen with her parents Ricky Beasley and Lakeia Walker.
When officers couldn't locate the couple, detectives placed the family's names into a national missing persons database. Ricky and Lakeia were spotted in Texas that November, where they were briefly detained before being released.
In December 2018, the couple was spotted at the Lucky Club Casino, near E. Cheyenne and Interstate 15. Ricky was arrested and Lakeia was released for cooperating with authorities.
CHANNEL 13 ARCHIVES: Couple arrested in connection with daughter's disappearance
For months, the couple insisted the toddler was in the care of relatives. However, a witness told police the last time anyone saw. Zaela was when Ricky got upset that she wet her pants while he was watching her. Police records also stated Ricky threw Zaela against a wall and reportedly Google searched "how to stop seizures in young children."
Investigators said interviews with Lakeia also indicated the child was not alive, including a failed lie detector test. Records also state Lakeia told officers "the trunk of a vehicle reeked, like rotten meat, and that she and Ricky cleaned the trunk by vacuuming and using lemon-scented ammonia to rid the trunk of the stench."
Zaela's body has never been found. Police say they believe she died from a trauma or health-related injury.
Court records filed last month show Ricky has agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder and could be sentenced to between 10 to 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole. Lakeia has agreed to plead guilty to accessory to commit murder and could be sentenced between one to five years in prison.
Both are scheduled to be formally sentenced on July 23.