A Nevada couple entered not guilty pleas this week to the systematic abuse and eventual murder of their daughter, who was 5, Us Weekly has confirmed.
Andrea and Nicholas Loving, who are in their 30s, were in court Wednesday, March 11, and pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
The couple also waived their right to a speedy trial, meaning the case could be tried as soon as August 2027.
The Lovings stand accused of abusing and killing their daughter, Izabella.
The girl died from bacterial pneumonia, malnutrition, medical neglect and blunt force trauma, according to her autopsy.
The medical examiners determined the girl died from homicide.
The girl was found dead inside the Lovings’ home in Cold Springs in April 2025.
The public defenders representing the Lovings argued this week that their clients shouldn’t be appearing in court wearing restraints and prison jumpsuits, as it might make them look guilty.
In court filings leading up to Wednesday’s hearing, attorneys had asked that the couple be allowed to wear civilian clothes to upcoming court proceedings.
Deputy District Attorney Nathan MacLellan, according to court records, argued against both motions.
“The right of a defendant to wear civilian clothes only applies during the jury trial,” reads the petition filed prior to Wednesday’s hearing. “Moreover, the court found that the defendants’ due process rights and access to a fair and impartial jury will not be adversely affected by wearing prison garb during pretrial hearings.”
A criminal complaint filed in the wake of the Lovings’ arrests alleged that Nicholas killed Izabella by “hitting and/or kicking and/or dragging and/or whipping and/or otherwise striking the victim and/or by shoving the victim’s head against a wall.”
Andrea, according to the complaint, allegedly aided and abetted Nicholas in the abuse, and even helped him to “cover up and/or conceal” some of Izabella’s injuries before she went out in public.
Prosecutors also claim that she instructed two of their other children to lie to police and say that Izabella’s injuries were caused by another minor child in the house.
Andrea also allegedly failed to provide Izabella with healthy food, “only feeding her a piece of bread for her daily nutrition.”
As Izabella continued to wither away, Andrea’s alleged Google search history showed searches related to the little girl’s symptoms.
She also looked up “signs my child is dying,” “dark blood on boil when popping,” “how long can you go without food,” “kidneys failing,” and “my five year old is peeing blood” on her phone, and after seeing the results, still did not seek medical treatment for her, investigators said.
Speaking to police months after their arrests, Andrea denied ever physically beating Izabella, but said Nicholas beat the girl “more times than she could count,” according to court filings.
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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