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Mother of baby found dead in Peoria is charged with murder

A gavel rests on a judge's bench in a blurry courtroom. The text "WCBU Courts" sits on top of that photo.

The mother of an infant found dead in Peoria has been charged with murder.

Andrea Luncsford, 25, was arrested Tuesday for the death of her infant son, Grayson. She is charged with one count of murder and one count of child endangerment.

Peoria police were called Monday evening to the 2400 block of North Peoria Avenue on a report of a dead baby. Police said Luncsford was “acting erratically” when they arrived. Peoria County Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Ramos said a drug test came back positive for cocaine use.

Ramos said Luncsford called her brother and father Monday to tell them Grayson wasn’t breathing. A search of Luncsford’s father’s phone showed multiple phone calls and messages between the two that day, including a text to Luncsford saying “you know that baby can overheat and die, please let us help you."

Luncsford tried to drive away with Grayson in her rented U-Haul pick-up when the brother and father arrived, but they were able to block her and remove Grayson from the truck.

Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said the 1-month-old baby had been dead for at least four to six hours before police arrived on the scene.

An autopsy showed evidence that Grayson died of dehydration and hyperthermia. Harwood said Tuesday that Grayson had likely been left in the vehicle he was found in without food or water for “an extended period.”

A spokesperson with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services said the child welfare agency has two open investigations related to the infant.

One is linked to a Sept. 6 incident involving a substantial risk of physical injury/environment. In professional parlance, that means "a child who is in real and significant danger of physical injury by one or more of their caregivers or someone else over the age of 16 who resides in the home."

The second pending investigation is the Sept. 16 death investigation. The DCFS spokesperson said the agency is working with local law enforcement on both investigations and declined further comment.

Luncsford appeared virtually in court on Wednesday. Judge Mark Gillies found probable cause for the two charges, and appointed a public defender to represent Luncsford.

She faces up to 100 years in prison on the murder charge. The endangerment charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

The state’s attorney’s office has filed a petition to deny pretrial release. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Camryn Cutinello is a reporter and digital content director at WCBU. You can reach Camryn at cncutin@illinoisstate.edu.