Woman ordered held by judge after infant son’s death

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Residents on North Peoria Avenue said a U-Haul pickup truck that had a dead baby inside had been parked in a driveway for several hours and the windows had been rolled up.

Also, the mother of dead boy, admitted she was alone with the child for the better of the day and that she had fed him several bottles, leaving one propped up in the 1-month-old’s car seat so he “could fed himself,” a prosecutor said.

Those are new details that was revealed during a pretrial detention hearing for Andrea Luncsford, 25 and three days shy of her 26th birthday, who stands charged with murder and endangering the life and health of a child for allegedly leaving her baby, Grayson Luncsford, in the pickup.

Peoria County Judge Mark Gilles ordered her held in custody at the Peoria County Jail noting she was a “real and present danger” to the community.

“The offense of murder that carries a minimum prison sentence of at least 20 yeas and a maximum of up to 100 years,” he said. “I’ve considered that an infant child whose only source of nourishment was his mother. He was failed and the proof is evident of that.”

Luncsford could be heard trying to defend herself but was shushed by the judge, who told her not to talk about the case. She was clad in the orange jumpsuit of a jail inmate and could be heard sobbing and crying over the video conferencing call.

“When one hears about the last several hours of this child’s life, one would not even treat an animal that way,” he said, then noted Luncsford “was convicted of the malicious treatment of animals and sentenced to 30 days in jail in South Carolina.”

Luncsford faces up to 100 years in prison and will find out at 3 p.m. Thursday if she is to be held in custody at the Peoria County Jail pending the outcome of her case. She will next appear in court on Oct. 9 for her arraignment as a grand jury will likely hear the case before then.

The charges allege Luncsford failed to provide basic nutrition and care in that she left the baby in the vehicle.

Just after 7 p.m., Monday, Peoria police were called to the 2400 block of North Peoria Avenue on a report of a dead baby. That’s near the intersection of East Archer Avenue.

A relative pulled the child out of the vehicle but he had already died, said Coroner Jamie Harwood, who estimated the baby had been dead for at least four hours but likely more. He said the cause of death was dehydration and hyperthermia.

She’s been held in the county jail since then while attorneys prepared for the detention hearing which is required under the state’s Pretrial Fairness Act, a part of the sweeping criminal justice overall known as the SAFE-T Act.

The hearing is akin to a mini-trial on the nature of the charges and the defendant. The facts aren’t hashed out as much but rather, it’s about can the state overcome the presumption of pretrial release by showing a judge that a person is dangerous or a risk to flee.

Her attorney argued against the detention, saying her client was willing to take drug treatment courses. The attorney said her client also wanted mourn the loss of her baby as well as the baby’s father who died a few weeks ago.

Prosecutor Deb Shelby pushed back, saying that there were no conditions that could keep the community safe. Also, that Luncsford was not from the area, she was a risk of flight.

And the judge also noted that while Luncsford wanted to bury her child, that “It was her actions” that caused the boy’s death.

Her criminal record, Gilles, didn’t help, having two prior convictions for aggravated battery to a peace officer in 2023 in McLean County and 2019 in Peoria County. Nor did “her self-reporting drug” habit where Luncsford allegedly said she was taking $20 a day worth of crack cocaine.

Shelby reiterated the factual basis that was laid out in court on Wednesday. She described the chaotic scene on Monday night where Luncsford’s father and brother had to block her from leaving the home on North Peoria Avenue. Her father, the prosecutor said, banged on the window and when she stopped, he opened the door and screamed, “you killed my grandbaby.”

A neighbor said the pickup had been there for a while at the house. The windows had been rolled up. The baby had been in the vehicle and according to a forensic pathologist, likely had been dead for at least 12 and possibly up to 24 hours.

That was due in large part to the condition of the boy’s body.

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