Mom accused of drowning her baby acquitted by reason of insanity, GA judge says
A Georgia mother charged with murder in the 2023 drowning death of her 1-year-old daughter was found not guilty by reason of insanity, news outlets report, citing court documents.
Asia Calabrese-Lewis was accused of felony murder and child cruelty in her daughter’s death before a Fulton County judge dropped the charges this month, WAGA and WANF reported.
McClatchy News reached out to Fulton County Superior Court for more information April 22 and was awaiting a response.
The acquittal comes nearly two years after security video showed Calabrese-Lewis leading her child, Nirvana Oliver, to a pond near the Concourse office park in Sandy Springs on May 11, 2023, according to WAGA.
The mom and daughter were off camera for six minutes before Calabrese-Lewis came back into frame unclothed and without the toddler, the station reported, citing an arrest warrant.
The child was taken to a hospital, where she died, authorities said.
“I was a bit shocked when I heard about (the acquittal),” baby Nirvana’s father, Kenneth G. Oliver, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
“It’s a confusion that doesn’t let you process things the way you should, and my unhealed self is asking like, ‘Why does it seem like she’s getting a slap on the wrist?’ The other part of me feels like … she really needs help with her mental, if it was a mental thing,” he said.
In her ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram said Nirvana’s mother was “mentally ill with diagnosis of bipolar disorder, mania with psychotic features” at the time of the incident, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing court documents.
Ingram said she looked over two mental health evaluations on Calabrese-Lewis before finding her not guilty by reason of insanity, according to the newspaper.
“At the time of the alleged offenses the Defendant did not have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong and that she acted because of delusion compulsion ... “ the judge’s order read, as reported by the AJC.
Sandy Springs police were called to the office complex around 6:40 p.m. on May 11, 2023, regarding a disturbance, McClatchy News reported. They arrived at a parking deck and found Calabrese-Lewis, who officers said was “having some type of episode.”
Lewis told her child’s father, who arrived shortly after, that their daughter was “deceased in a pool,” police said in a news release.
Officers and fire rescue officials fanned out in search of the missing girl before finding her body in a pond, police said.
Kelsia Oliver, Nirvana’s aunt, said the family “feels cheated” out of time with the toddler, who was about a month shy of her second birthday.
She described the acquittal of Calabrese-Lewis as “bittersweet,” as the family hoped for justice on Nirvana’s behalf.Neither she nor her brother have had direct contact with Calabrese-Lewis since her 2023 arrest.
“She’s not that mugshot,” Kelsia Oliver told McClatchy News of Nirvana’s mom. “We love her and we always want the best for her. Regardless of the situation, she will always have our love.”
Still grieving his daughter, Kenneth G. Oliver remembered the impact the 1-year-old had on those who adored her most.
“She was just tapping into her personality,” he said. “She knew sign language. She was definitely a breath of fresh air.”
Sandy Springs is about a 20-mile drive north from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Mom accused of drowning her baby acquitted by reason of insanity, GA judge says."