BATON ROUGE - A mother accused of punching her 2-year-old child in the stomach before the toddler's death was found guilty of attempted second-degree cruelty to juveniles on Monday. 

Lanaya Cardwell originally faced a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of her two-year-old daughter, Nevaeh Allen.

The defense's attorney, Jarvis Clairbone, told jurors that throughout interviews with detectives, Cardwell never changed her statements about what happened that morning. In interviews shown to jurors, Cardwell told the detective she only "popped" her child two times that day. 

Clairborne asked jurors to question the testimony of Philip Gardner’s daughter, who took the stand earlier in the trial. Gardner, Cardwell's boyfriend at the time, was found guilty of second-degree murder of the child and obstruction of justice back in May.

During an interview played in court, Gardner's daughter said Cardwell hit Allen twice in the stomach. When the child testified in court on Thursday, she demonstrated the action on a doll, adding that Allen may have been struck more than two times. 

Claiborne told jurors that the child’s testimony was inconsistent with a prior statement. He also said the change in statements may have been from the child not wanting her father to be the lone conviction in the case.

The defense noted Nevaeh is Heaven spelled backwards.

"We know Nevaeh is in Heaven, but she caught hell on Earth the day she departed," the defense said.

During the state's closing statements, prosecutors reminded jurors of the charge Cardwell is facing, asking them to find Cardwell guilty of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile.

Prosecutors said Gardner's daughter was not coached on what to say on the stand, adding that the child's testimony was based on her memory of the event from almost four years ago.

According to the state, while surveillance video showed Cardwell and Allen together after the alleged incident, a forensic pathologist testified earlier in the case, pointing out that the damage seen on the two-year-old's stomach may not have killed the toddler at the exact moment. The pathologist claimed that the injury would gradually become fatal. 

Cardwell will remain in custody until her sentencing on May 12.