Mother, Daughter Found Buried in Shallow Grave in Lexington Park

A community in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, is mourning the loss of a 6-year-old girl known as the "Mayor of Shangri-La."

“Everybody loved her; she was the mayor of Shangri-La," John Leys, a neighbor said.

Lyneasha Justice Greenwell was found with her mother, Martina Patterson, buried in a shallow grave just hours after they were first reported missing.

“She will be missed. I wake up every morning, and I expect LaLa to knock on my door," Leys said about the girl.

A memorial to the girl and her mother is now taking up the sidewalk and the front door of their home.

According to the St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office, the little girl and her mother were reported missing early Wednesday morning.

After the sheriff’s office began their investigation, a neighbor told them they had seen Wayne Carroll Key Jr. dragging a trash can into a wooded area, according to authorities. Investigators then found the shallow grave when they went into the woods.

It’s unclear how they were killed.

Authorities arrested Key and charged him with two counts each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault.

A court document filed in the case says Key and Patterson have another, younger, child together. That child is safe.

The document also says Key had previously threatened to kill Patterson.

Authorities said Key was also wanted on prior warrants for burglary, assault, harassment and child support. 

News4 spoke with Patterson’s mother over the phone today.

"It’s terrible; nobody should take nobody’s life the way they took my daughter and my granddaughter … she was just the most beautiful angel in the world," said Margaret Proctor, mother of Martina Patterson.

The sheriff’s office said Patterson had previously reported being assaulted and harassed by Key.

An autopsy will determine how the mother and daughter were killed.