Law&Crime Sidebar - Mom Accused of Covering Up 5-Year-Old's Abuse Now Charged With Murder

Episode Date: December 26, 2025

A Nevada mother is now facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of her 5-year-old daughter — a stunning escalation in a case that has shaken northern Nevada. Prosecutors say new evidence led them to charge Andrea Loving in connection with the death of Izabella Loving, who investigators say suffered severe, ongoing abuse and neglect. With Izabella’s father, Nicholas Loving, already charged, Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down what changed with family law attorney Randy Kessler.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SIDEBAR at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/sidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wonderry Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. In Nevada, Mother is now facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of her five-year-old daughter, Isabella Loving. Prosecutors claim Andrea Loving's case was upgraded after investigators uncovered more evidence pointing to severe long-term abuse and neglect. We are breaking down what led to that charge, what a third. say changed and what comes next in this case with a family law attorney. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber.

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back with Incogny, and you can use Sidebar for 60% off. an annual plan. A Nevada mother is now accused of murdering her five-year-old daughter, a child that investigators say showed signs of severe, long-term abuse and neglect before she died. Prosecutors in Washoe County Nevada have filed an expanded first-degree murder charge against Andrea Loving, in connection with the death of Isabella Loving, who was found unresponsive inside of her home near Reno earlier this year. That Isabella died after her father, so we're talking about Nicola, Loving, we'll focus more on him in a second, that he killed Isabella by, quote, hitting and or kicking and or whipping and or otherwise striking the victim and or by shoving the victim's

head against a wall. Investigators say this little girl had extensive injuries, signs of malnutrition, medical neglect, and until now, only Isabella's father had faced that murder charge. But that has changed. We now have video of Andrea Loving taken into custody on that upgraded charged. This is courtesy of Reno News 4. And prosecutors say that the new evidence led them to expand the case. So here's what we know and how it got to this point. According to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office, the investigation began early in the morning on April 3rd. This is when deputies were called to a home in Cold Springs. It's a rural community north of Reno. First responders, they arrive after a report of an unresponsive child. That child was again five-year-old Isabella Loving.

and despite life-saving efforts, Isabella was pronounced dead at the scene. And almost immediately, deputies say they noticed what they described as significant signs of trauma on her body, that this was no accident. The scene was secured. Detectives were called in to begin a full investigation. And the court records and reporting from News 4 Reno

show that investigators observed numerous visible injuries on Isabella. We are talking bruising. We are talking about other marks that raised serious red flags. Medical examiner would later determine that Isabella died from bacterial pneumonia, but that blunt force injuries, malnutrition, dehydration, medical neglect, they were all significant contributing factors to this little girl's death. And Isabella, she lived in that home with her parents, Nicholas and Andrea. She also lived with several siblings. We'll talk about them more in a minute. According to law enforcement, both parents were interviewed in the hours

after Isabella's death. And investigators say the explanations that were given for this little girl's injuries involved a series of alleged accidents, falls, other things like that. But authorities ultimately determined that those explanations didn't match up. They didn't align with the extent or the pattern of these perceived injuries. And as the investigation continued, detectives also look very closely at Isabella's living conditions and her medical history. And instead of getting the care that her daughter needed, authorities

claim that Andrea did some Google searching. What did she allegedly search for? Quote, signs my child is dying. Dark blood unboil when popping. How long can you go without food? Kidneys failing. My five-year-old is peeing blood. Those are the alleged searches. Within days, prosecutors move forward with charges against Isabella's father, Nicholas Loving. He was initially charged with child abuse causing substantial bodily injury, later faced a more serious charge of murder. This is again after the medical examiner ruled Isabella's death a homicide. Andrea was arrested earlier on in the investigation on child abuse-related charges, but for months, prosecutors stopped short of charging her with murder. This is even as apparent public attention

and community outrage grew. And investigators, prosecutors, they continued reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, analyzing records, and it was on December 23rd that the Washoe County District Attorney's Office announced a major development. Republicans. Prosecutors formally upgraded the case against Andrea charging her with first-degree murder, along with additional counts of child abuse or neglect causing substantial bodily harm. And in response, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office released a statement emphasizing the significance of this move, saying, quote, with the recent filing of expanded charges against Andrea Loving by the Washoe County District Attorney's Office, our agency remains steadfast in our commitment to Izzy and to ensuring that every hour.

aspect of this investigation is carried forward with the highest level of care and thoroughness. This development marks another significant step toward achieving full accountability for the tragedy that occurred. And as we said earlier, Isabella's father Nicholas is already facing a murder charge. You have Sheriff Darren Balam, who echoed that message in a separate statement saying we continue to work closely with the district attorney's office as this case progresses through the criminal justice system, and we remain deeply grateful for the collaboration among all partner agencies involved from the very beginning. Authorities say the decision to expand the charges it came after investigators uncovered evidence

suggesting Isabella's abuse was not isolated, that it wasn't accidental, that it was ongoing, that Andrea Loving may have known about the injuries, not only failed to intervene, but tried to cover all this up, took steps after Isabella's death that raised serious legal concerns, and those details, including what Andrea allegedly told investigators and what police say happened in the hours after Isabella was found unresponsive. They're all laid out in court documents. And that's what we want to go to next. So to do that, let me break this all down, the latest developments in the case with family

law attorney Randy Kessler. Randy, thank you so much for taking the time. Always appreciate it. When prosecutors upgrade a case like this to first degree murder, months later, what does that tell you about what they believe happened and what, maybe more importantly, they believe they can prove happened? I think your point number two is exactly what happened.

You know, they got to get her with something, right? She absolutely condone this, let this happen, felony murder, cover up, conspiracy. You can throw all those things together. But first of me, they feel pretty confident now they're going to get her on that too. And also maybe putting the pressure on her to turn and in state's evidence. I mean, I can't imagine she's not going to point in the finger at him

and saying I was terrified. He had me threatened the death if I said a word or didn't do anything, but they're ratcheting up the pressure. Yes, Jesse, they feel like they can prove murder one to the charge him. And listen, I mean, even the filing, she already is or already has been pointing the finger at him. Is it unusual to see a change like that after some time? I mean, some people say, why not just charge her immediately with that? But that's not uncommon for it to take some time, right? You know, nothing's uncommon in this world, right?

They first charged with what they knew. they could prove now they feel comfortable they got to prove everything else it's not that uncommon usually charge with what you have because you feel confident enough about it but you know on the flip side you can't prove the strongest charge you don't want to go way you don't want to let her go you got to charge of what you got so they charged with what they had and they built the case and charge her with what they can prove and by the way just to be clear about something from a legal perspective if a parent didn't let's just for argument sake didn't physically cause every injury that was sustained by the child or physically or directly

cause the death of that child. If they don't intervene, if they don't call law enforcement, if they don't get medical help for the child, they can still be on the hook, right? Right. And there are two parts to that question. One is, if they don't cause every damage, well, you don't know which act was one that led to the murder. So maybe it was the act that she did by pushing the child once, or maybe the not reporter or not bringing the child in. But, Yes, assuming part two of your question is she did nothing wrong except for not report it, not bring the child's help. She still can be charged, maybe not with murder one.

But if she commits any crime, right, whether it's conspiracy, whether it's covering up a crime, whether it's concealing a crime, whether it's false imprisonment, that's a felony. Then you get her for felony murder because a murder happened while she was in the commission of another crime. Sometimes when we talk about murder cases or even child abuse cases, it can be a one-act thing. It could be a one incident thing. Why is it important here to establish a pattern? Well, one, because it shows that she's more likely to have committed a murder than it to have been an accident. But number two, it's an aggravating factor, right?

It's something that the jury is going to think, okay, one time, maybe my mind can't wrap around the idea that parent could do this to a child. Maybe two times. But this many times, the jury is going to be blown away. And I cannot imagine that anybody on the jury is going to think that mom and dad didn't cause the death of this little girl. So I want to start with what Andrea loving herself allegedly told detectives about the abuse happening inside that home. This goes back to something that you mentioned earlier, Randy, about who she seems to be pointing the finger at, because according to the affidavit, investigators write, and this is a direct quote, Andrea also revealed that she recently witnessed Nicholas, kick Isabella, essentially in the genitals. On Sunday, March 30th, 2025, she witnessed Nicholas drag Isabella, by the way, it's blacked out, but we're assuming they're talking about Isabella, drag Isabella by the collar or hood of her sweatshirt

up the stairs as Isabella struck the steps with her body as they went. Immediately after that, Andrea heard Nicholas yelling and a loud thud against the wall as if he had thrown Isabella against the wall and she struck her head. Andrea admittedly did not intervene, nor did she call 911. So Randy, back to you from a legal standpoint. How significant is this account? And can we believe it? Can we believe that's what happened?

I think it's believable only because it's not an attempt to get off the hook. She's not saying I saw my husband do something wrong and I reported it or I tried to protect my child. She's saying I saw all this horrible stuff going on to my daughter and I did nothing. That makes it believable because she's got no reason to do that except to say, I'm trying to tell you it wasn't me, but she doesn't realize her saying it wasn't me isn't saving it. You know, I saw somebody do something and I could have prevented it. or I could have reported it, but I did nothing. And a jury's mind, in my mind, just as bad, maybe worse.

And the affidavit then details what investigators say happened after Isabella was found unresponsive and why prosecutors believe this wasn't panic, but it was deliberation, right? It was a cover up. It was planning. So again, quoting directly, Andrea and Nicholas spent the next several hours talking about their options and what they should do. Andrea said Nicholas wanted to hide Isabella's body in the backyard and run to his parents' home in Virginia. Andrea told Nicholas they could not do that.

Nicholas told Andrea, well, we can't leave it here. It'll rot. Nicholas said he did not want to call for help because he did not want to lose his family. And the affidavit goes even further describing what Andrea Loving told investigators about who she believed caused Isabella's death. Here's the quote. Andrea was asked if Nicholas killed Isabella, and Andrea answered, yeah. So from a defense perspective, Randy, if you were defending, not Andrea, but you were defending Nicholas, what do you do with statements like this, particularly, you know, if the physical injuries corroborate her version of events? I mean, what would Nicholas do in a situation like this? Try to put the blame on her? Yeah, I mean, all you can do is attack credibility. You could say,

why wasn't even a conversation if that was true and she was saying you can't do this or planning why were they even having a conversation about it? She should have reported to the police and gone right after him and said look I'm a good mom this is a terrible guy that I'm married to you got to attack her credibility it's the only person you have point the finger at is the other defendant and I can't imagine that they're going to get away with it I can't

imagine they'd go out for the plea for doing that but that's all you got you got to there's only one other witness attack their credibility So do they believe her because she's charged with first-degree murder? Do they believe that he's responsible or she's responsible, both responsible? I mean, how much of her account are they believing if they're charging it with first-degree murder? Well, I think they still believe they might believe her account that doesn't absolve her first-degree murder

just because she talked about it, just because she complained about it, just because she felt bad about it. She did nothing about it. She was part of it. She was part of the action. She was in the vehicle. She was in the house. She was part of the whole process, the whole methodology, the whole operation. She's part of it.

You know, the real question may be, who does a jury hate more for hurting their, for killing their child, a father or a mother? You know, we've covered cases in the past. A mother killing their own child. Sometimes it's much more impactful than a father killing their own child. I mean, that's, you're going to have these defendants go at each other soon or later. By the way, I don't know this for sure. I apologize, but do you think they would be tried together or separately in one trial or two

separate trials? And would there be a motion on the part of their? defense attorneys to sever it. I think whichever one thinks have a better shot at being separate is going to move for it to be separate. Whoever's going to point the finger at the other one, which sounds like mom. If I was mom, I'd say prosecute dad first. I will help you prosecute dad. I will make sure you get him convicted and then limit the sentencing, limit what I could possibly sentenced with even if I have to go to trial, take the death penalty off the table, something like that. This is another part that we got to talk about. So investigators also claim that

Andrea admitted to actively trying to control what information came out afterward, and this included, or allegedly included, involving the other children. Again, directly from the affidavit, quote, Andrea said she told the children to lie and say Isabella's injuries were from, so apparently another child, and to not talk about Isabella sleeping in the small storage cabinet. Randy, that is just a whole other level there. how does that alleged instruction, you know, telling children to essentially lie, conceal living conditions? A, how are they going to prove that? And B, how does that support a first-degree murder theory? It's just another aggravating factor. It's horrible. In many times, the cover-up is worse

in the actual crime, only because the cover-up is when the bad thing has been done, whether it was split-second, whether it was bad judgment, whether it was an accident. But then when you're thinking about how to cover it up, you're plotting, you're manipulating, you're manipulating. That's offensive to a lot of people. How do they prove it, you know, other than the affidavit, I don't know how they prove it. Well, let me ask you that. So, obviously, they could just, you know, say, hey, this is what she said, right? Or do they have to call these children as witnesses?

They could. I don't know if they would want to traumatize those children. It sounds like, you know, is she going to contest it? Is she going to refute the affidavit now? She's going to give them an opportunity to cross-examine her and say, so now when you're facing the death penalty or life in jail, you're saying that that wasn't true. Back when you signed this affidavit, which was a case. closer to the event in time, when you remember it was better, then it wasn't true. I mean, she's sort of stuck.

I think she has to say, yeah, I said it because that's what I did. And she needs to fall on the sword, you know, giving an opportunity to the prosecutors to cross-examine her. Boy, that's a field day for them. And I got to talk about this, too. So the affidavit also documents apparent inconsistencies in Andrea Loving's timeline, particularly about when Isabella was discovered. So here's how investigators describe it, quote, during, Andrew's interview, she initially denied any type of violence toward Isabella committed by either her or Nicholas. And she told the story about finding Isabella not breathing at around

7 a.m. Andrew described when she went to bed at 1 a.m., Isabella was breathing. Andrew woke up around 2 a.m. and checked on Isabella, and that is when she realized Isabella was not breathing. Problem, right? So, Randy, from a legal standpoint, the shifting timelines, the shifting details, I'd imagine for a defense attorney, like, let me your phrase, from Nicholas's defense attorney perspective, it's great, right? If they are relying, let's say she's a cooperating witness, she gave conflicting accounts. How possibly jury can you believe this woman when she's telling investigators one thing and then another? I think from if she does turn on him and takes some sort of deal and testifies against him, this is great for his attorney. But is this problematic for prosecutors?

I think it's very common for prosecutors, right? like the guy who says, I wasn't drinking and driving. Well, here's a video of you driving. Okay, I was driving, but I wasn't drinking. Well, here's a bottle of you drinking. Oh, well, I was drinking soda. It wasn't beer. Well, here's a close-up. It's beer.

You know, when she knows she's going to get caught, she twists and turns. Very common. People that lie will keep lying until they're caught dead right. I think she's a liar and a murderer, and I don't think that this is going to help her. It's going to help the, and I don't think it's going to hurt the prosecution. Randy Kessler, thanks for taking the time. Really appreciate it. Thanks for having.

Appreciate it. And that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.