On Monday, Ohio police arrested a couple for the death of the woman’s 7-year-0ld son — who allegedly died weeks before he was reported missing.
Hershall Creachbaum’s body was found a half-mile from his Dayton home on Saturday, hours after he was reported missing. His mother’s boyfriend, Michael Kendrick, 38, claimed someone punched him in the face and took the boy — but an investigation revealed that was not the case, as the boy died weeks earlier, according to the Dayton Daily News.
READ: Autistic 7-Year-Old Boy Found Dead After Vanishing With Wheelchair; Person of Interest in Custody
Kendrick was reportedly intoxicated when he placed the false kidnapping call.
Creachbaum, who was autistic and nonverbal, used a wheelchair but could walk short distances. His cause of death is undetermined.
Creachbaum’s mother, Ashley Johnson, 36, allegedly told police that her son’s death occurred sometime in May while she was hospitalized. Kendrick revealed to Johnson that her son succumbed of natural causes while in his care — leading him to dump his body by some railroad tracks, according to WHIO.
Kendrick allegedly confessed to punching Creachbaum twice in the head. He reportedly also pushed the boy down, resulting in additional injuries. Kendrick claimed he died in the shower the following day, according to WHIO.
“He then took him out, stuffed him into a suitcase and disposed of his body in a grassy field near train tracks. He then after a few weeks went back and recovered the bones. He placed them in a bag and put them in the 100 block of McClure St.,” Dayton police wrote in an affidavit.
Though Kendrick was booked into jail on a preliminary murder charge, he was formally charged with tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. Johnson was arrested on preliminary charges of failing to report a death and obstructing justice.
Dayton police Chief Kamran Afzal said additional charges are possibly forthcoming as their investigation continues.
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[Feature Photo: Dayton police]
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Author: Jacquelyn Gray
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