DAYTON, Ohio (Court TV) — A mother and her boyfriend are behind bars after the remains of her non-verbal son were found hours after he was reported missing.
FILE – Hershall Creachbaum is seen in an undated photo. (Dayton Police Department)
Police in Dayton, Ohio, received a call early on July 12 from Michael Kendrick reporting that his girlfriend’s son, 8-year-old Hershall Creachbaum, had been kidnapped. Police immediately launched a search for Creachbaum, who had autism, was non-verbal and used a wheelchair, but were unable to find him.
As the investigation unfolded, police determined that Creachbaum hadn’t been seen “for several weeks,” Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal said at a news conference. Hours after the initial report of Creachbaum’s disappearance, remains believed to be his were found on the street a short distance away.
“In our line of work, we see evil acts on a routine basis,” Afzal said. “The callousness shown in this situation towards this child is horrendous and truly evil.”
Kendrick was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and three counts of tampering with evidence. Creachbaum’s mother, Ashley Johnson, was charged with obstruction of justice and failure to report a death.
Ashley Johnson and Michael Kendrick are facing several charges in connection with the death of Hershall Creachbaum. (Montgomery County Jail)
In court documents obtained by Court TV, officers said that Johnson admitted that her son had died in late May, while he had been in Kendrick’s care and she had been in the hospital having surgery. Johnson said Kendrick told her the child died of natural causes and that he disposed of the body by railroad tracks. When Kendrick talked to police, he allegedly admitted to punching the boy in the head twice.
Kendrick allegedly admitted to keeping Creachbaum’s body inside the family home “until he started to smell,” at which point he moved the body to a deep freezer. Eventually, he said he put Creachbaum’s body into a suitcase and left it in a grassy field near train tracks before returning several weeks later to collect the bones, which he placed in a bag where they were eventually found.
Afzal told reporters he believed that Johnson had legal custody of Creachbaum when he died.
