BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The man found guilty of murder in the case of 2-year-old Nevaeh Allen appealed his conviction through a public defender while in court on Wednesday, July 30.
To appeal a conviction means to formally request a higher court to review the decision of a lower court that found someone guilty of a crime.
A jury convicted Phillip Gardner, 34, of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice in May 2025. Gardner was the boyfriend of Neveah Allen’s mother, Lanaya Cardwell, 28. He was accused of dumping the small child’s body in Mississippi after she was punched and died.
An affidavit revealed that Cardwell punched the child in the chest out of anger after the toddler picked up Cardwell’s contact lenses. The child fell backward and hit her head on a cabinet as a result of the punch. After the child had lain down, she was later found unresponsive…