An Ohio mother and her boyfriend were both arrested in connection with the death of their 7-year-old son, whose remains were discovered near her home.
Hours after Hershall Creachbaum, 7, was reported missing on Saturday by his mother’s boyfriend, 39-year-old Michael Kendrick, the remains of a child were discovered less than half a mile away. Dayton Police said they believed the remains belonged to Hershall.
After the search for the boy, who had nonverbal autism and used a wheelchair, ended in tragedy, the investigation into his alleged kidnapping revealed disturbing information: the boy had allegedly been missing for weeks.
When his mother, Ashley H. Johnson, 36, was questioned, she allegedly told police that Hershall died “sometime while she was in the hospital having surgery in late May,” according to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WHIO.
In a press conference on Monday, Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal confirmed that before being reported missing by Kendrick, the boy “had not been seen for several weeks.” Police later concluded that he had never gone missing and had been dead the entire time.
According to court documents, Johnson told police that Hershall was cared for by Kendrick while she was having surgery in May.
Police said Kendrick initially claimed Hershall died of natural causes, but later admitted to punching the boy before “pushing him down, causing him to bounce off the floor and striking other parts of his body.” Kendrick allegedly claimed that Hershall later died in the shower.
According to police, Kendrick admitted to keeping the boy’s body at home “until he started to smell,” after which he placed his remains in a freezer.
Kendrick allegedly “stuffed him into a suitcase and disposed of his body in a grassy field near train tracks.” Weeks later, he reportedly returned to his first disposal site, placed Hershall’s remains in a bag, and left them where they were found.
WHIO reported that family members had expressed concerns about Hershall for months. According to relatives, Hershall was with his paternal grandmother until she was injured in a car accident, at which point Johnson took custody.
During his press conference, Chief Afzal confirmed that Montgomery County Children Services was involved in the family and had taken custody of Hershall’s sister.
Neither Johnson nor Kendrick have been charged with murder. Both are in custody at the Dayton County Jail. Johnson was charged with failing to report a death and obstructing justice and is being held on a $2,000 bond.
Kendrick faces three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of abuse of a corpse. Charges of murder, child endangerment, and assault are on his jail record, but he has not been formally charged with any of them. He is being held without a bond.
