Lesley Marcotte, who pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension or prosecution related to the death of Malik Drummond, a two-year-old reported missing in 2014, was released from prison on November 18 after serving only 4 months of her 10-year sentence, KATV reported.
After beginning her sentence in July, Marcotte was allowed the opportunity to participate in a 105-day boot camp program sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Correction. Following participation in the program, inmates are eligible for release, which lead to Marcotte’s early release after completing only a fraction of her time.
Marcotte has now entered into the Arkansas Community Correction, a program which provides parole supervision and residential-style centers that offer educational programs and employment counseling.
Marcotte was convicted of lying to the police in order to protect her boyfriend, Jeffery Clifton, the father of Malik Drummond. Clifton pleaded no contest to beating his son then hiding his body, and is currently serving a 40-year sentence, THV11 reported.
In a statement released on November 28, White County Prosecutor Rebecca Reed expressed disappointment in Marcotte’s early release.
“We are all very very frustrated with the opportunity she was given to go to boot camp, the early release, the lack of opportunity to object to parole,” Reed said. “I would argue that this offense was related to a violent offense, obviously the horrific death of Malik, and Ms. Marcotte’s participation in that cover up, I don’t think she should have been eligible.”
The disappearance of Malik made national headlines in 2014 when Clifton reported that the two-year-old child had wandered off while Clifton was asleep and Marcotte was taking a bath. Local police and volunteers searched throughout Searcy and surrounding areas, following various tips regarding the whereabouts of the missing toddler, and eventually the FBI became involved.
Clifton was eventually arrested for capital murder and abuse of a corpse after confessing to beating his son to death and disposing of his body in Jackson County. Marcotte was arrested in connection of the murder the next day after confessing to lying to the police in order to help Clifton cover-up Malik’s death.
While Marcotte is free, Clifton is still serving his 40-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, which came about after prosecutors offered Clifton a plea deal that reduced his charges from capital murder to second-degree, carrying a lesser sentence.
