BELL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A man has been indicted by a Bell County Grand Jury for the murder of 17-month-old Elena Hembree in July 2023, according to WRIL- The Big One.
WRIL- The Big One reports that 44-year-old Harvey Gollahan was indicted on May 7, 2025, for murder and three counts of first-degree criminal abuse.
According to WRIL- The Big One, Elena was taken to the Middlesboro ARH Hospital on July 28, 2023, due to the "extreme nature" of her injuries and then flown to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, where she died days later on July 30, 2023.
Medical evidence, according to WRIL- The Big One, determined that Elena suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head around "48 to 72 hours before being taken to the emergency room," and the trauma to Elena was not "physically apparent" but was later discovered by the medical examiner.
LEX 18 previously reported in Aug. 2023 that Erica Lawson, Elena's mother, was arrested in connection with her death and charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree failure to report child abuse, first-degree criminal abuse to a child under 12, and wanton endangerment.
According to WRIL- The Big One, the Commonwealth Attorney's Office had initially sought the death penalty for Lawson in February 2025 but Bell County Circuit Court Judge Keith Nagle signed an order striking it and changing the first count of her indictment.
Judge Nagle, according to WRIL- The Big One, ruled that the case "did not meet the requirements to warrant the death penalty" and changed it from "intentionally causing the death" to "wantonly causing the death."
After further investigation in the case and DNA testing, WRIL- The Big One reports that there were several other suspects among Gollahan, but it was determined that he was "directly involved in the events and conduct that led to the death" of Elena.
According to WRIL- The Big One, the case was presented to the grand jury on Wednesday, and Gollahan was served the indictment on Thursday morning at the Bell County Detention Center, where "he was being held on several pending charges from 2024."
WRIL- The Big One says they reached out to the Bell County Commonwealth Attorney, Mike Taylor, who told them that additional evidence analyzed by the Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory confirmed that Gollahan was connected to the case, which led to the indictment. He adds that the case will stay in the Bell County court system, and an arraignment for Gollahan will be held soon.
