Mom charged after 8-year-old boy found dead in attic, police say

Two women in Ohio are charged in connection with the death of an 8-year-old boy.

Screenshot from WBNS.

Two women in Ohio are charged in connection with the death of an 8-year-old boy, authorities said.

Shortly after noon on June 28, Lashanda Wilder, 32, called Columbus police to report that her 8-year-old son, Martonio Wilder, had been missing since the previous night, Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in a news conference broadcast by The Columbus Dispatch.

Officers spoke with Wilder and Johnna Lowe, 33, at the home, according to WCMH. However, as authorities searched for Martonio, police said Wilder and Lowe left the home with Wilder’s two other children.

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When officials were unable to contact Wilder, a search warrant was obtained for the home. Inside, authorities found Martonio’s body hidden in an attic inside a trash bag placed on a bivouac cover, police told the outlet.

Bryant said an Amber Alert was issued for Wilder’s two other children, ages 3 and 9. Shortly after the Amber Alert was issued, the children were found safe.

Police said Martonio’s death was suspicious.

Martonio’s death was ruled a homicide. Police have not said how he died, but court records say “the coroner found deep compression on the victim’s neck,” according to The Columbus Dispatch.

“How could you, when you have us all here looking for him, them looking, them looking and the whole time he was dead?” Wilder’s aunt, Rachelle Knight, told WBNS.

Officials were searching for Wilder and Lowe, who later turned themselves in on June 29, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

“Martonio was a bright kid, all he wanted was to be loved, he wanted to be loved,” Knight told WBNS. “He was 8 years old, Lashanda, 8 years old, what?”

Wilder is charged with murder and obstruction of justice, and Lowe is charged with obstruction of justice, according to court records.

Jennifer Rodriguez is McClatchy’s real-time national reporter covering the Midwest and Midwest regions. She joined McClatchy in 2023 after covering local news in Youngstown, Ohio, for more than six years. Jennifer has achieved several accomplishments in her journalism career, including receiving the Robert R. Hare English Award, the Emerging Leader Justice and Equality Award, the Edward R. Murrow Regional Award, and the Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award.

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