There was a time in Aveion Lewis' short life when he was a healthy, normal-sized boy.

That was when he was 26 months old. He'd been taken from his mother and stepfather and gained more than 20 pounds in the 11 months he lived with a foster family.

"He was returned a happy, pudgy little boy," Roanoke Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Sandra Workman said in an interview.

Aveion's pudgy period didn't last. In the four months between when Aveion's mom and stepdad regained custody and when the toddler's body was found in a Roanoke County landfill in January, he shed weight dramatically, said Workman, who will prosecute the parents on charges of second-degree murder, neglect and cruelty. Aveion was emaciated, she said, weighing far less than the 30 pounds to 40 pounds he weighed upon leaving foster care on March 31, 2009.

Aveion would have turned 3 on Jan. 26, the day before his body, wrapped in plastic and tape, was found in the landfill. His stepfather, Brandon R'eal Lockett, 24, had told police 13 days earlier that masked men had kidnapped the boy. His mother, Morgan Elizabeth Ward Lockett, 23, said she was at work at the time.

Authorities haven't said what killed Aveion. During a court hearing last week in which a judge ordered Morgan Lockett to remain jailed pending trial, Workman said the toddler was gaunt and suffered a broken arm that went untreated in his final four to six weeks.

Workman added details in an interview Friday. Aveion, who was born prematurely, weighed 9 pounds at the age of 14 months, when he was put into foster care. His weight doubled during his first six weeks with a foster family, according to a search warrant filed in January. He plumped up to a normal weight of more than 30 pounds during the 11 months he spent away from his mother and stepfather, Workman said.

Amy Goff, owner of Copper Hill Child Care in Floyd County, said Aveion was a frequent visitor during his time in foster care and celebrated his second birthday with other children there.

"He was a very happy child. He never met a stranger," Goff said.

After a few months, Aveion became well known around Copper Hill, Goff said -- both because of his outgoing personality and as one of the few black children in the area.

"He loved the attention," Goff said.

More than a dozen posts on a Web site memorial set up by his foster parents echo Goff's comments. Many remarked about Aveion's laugh and smile. One recalled his lip-smacking love for raisins. One noted his weight gain and said "he was so easy to love."

Aveion had his appendix removed soon after birth and recovered fully, Workman said. He needed medication after the operation, but didn't have continuing health problems, Workman said.

"He was, while fragile, not quite as medically high-maintenance as he's been made out to be," Workman said.

While Aveion was in foster care, Roanoke Social Services required the Locketts to take a parenting class. Social workers instructed Brandon Lockett, who had prior convictions in Georgia for striking a woman and for breaking into her house to attack a man, to take a class on alternatives to domestic violence. After December 2008, when the Locketts were permitted visits with Aveion in their home, a social worker spent 20 to 30 hours per month working with the parents, according to a social services statement in January.

By March 2009, when Aveion came back to live with the Locketts under social worker supervision, the boy weighed between 30 and 40 pounds, normal for his age, Workman said.

He lost a little of that weight before September 2009, but not enough to alarm social workers, Workman said. On Sept. 19, a judge accepted social services' recommendation to fully restore custody of Aveion to the Locketts.

Exactly how much weight Aveion lost in his last months of life hasn't been made public.

In addition to the broken arm, Aveion had been burned on the legs by a heater sometime during his final weeks, according to a search warrant filed earlier in the case. He wasn't treated for the burns.

Morgan Lockett's court-appointed attorney, Art Strickland of Roanoke, said that from what he knew, the first his client heard about Aveion having a broken arm was Workman's statement last week in court. Morgan Lockett spent her days working as an assistant at Hurt Park Elementary School, Strickland said, while Brandon Lockett was at home caring for Aveion and the couple's three other children.

Brandon Lockett's attorney, Rachel Jackson of the city public defender's office, said her agency's policy prohibits her from commenting on the case.

The Locketts' three other children are staying with Morgan Lockett's mother, said Cara Ward, Morgan Lockett's sister.

"The kids are safe now, and they're good and they're happy and laughing," Ward said this week.

News researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.

mike.gangloff@roanoke.com 981-3336

amanda.codispoti@roanoke.com 981-3334