An eight-year-old boy was found to weigh a mere 15kg when he died – a woman has been jailed after the child’s body was found in an attic and stuffed inside a bag
A woman has been jailed following the horrific discovery of a body belonging to an eight-year-old boy in a rubbish bag. Martonio Wilder was tragically killed by Johnna Lowe, 24 – the girlfriend of his mum LaShanda Delores Wilder, 33 – who reported him missing in June last year. An autopsy and investigation alleged the child was subject to shocking abuse during his short life.
His body was found stuffed inside a rubbish bag hidden in a sleeping bag hidden in the attic of a home in Columbus, Ohio, in the US. Police became suspicious after a search of the property. Wilder and Lowe are alleged to have fled the house after a missing persons report was filed.
When officers brought a cadaver dog to the property, Wilder was allegedly “uncooperative” and told officers she did not want the dog to be brought inside. She left with Lowe and her two other children, Law and Crime reported.
Police succeeded in gaining a search warrant and found the remains. The two women turned themselves in the next day.
An autopsy then found that Martonio’s death was caused by “asphyxia by anterior neck compression” and there were also signs he was subjected to systematic abuse, suffered severe malnutrition, and had “severe loss of muscle mass”.
According to The Columbia Dispatch, prosecutors alleged that Lowe told detectives that just two days before he died, Martonio was locked in a coat closet after being beaten with a crutch. He was said to be often locked in the closet to be kept away from food, a report by ABC affiliate WSYX said. Martonio was also beaten and choked with an extension cord on occasion, it was claimed.
Also noticed during the autopsy was that the boy had signs of blunt trauma to his head. The child weighed just 15kg and was a little over four feet tall.
Wilder is set to appear in court on July 15. Lowe was handed life in prison after pleading guilty to one count each of murder and gross abuse of a corpse in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Under Ohio law, she will be eligible for parole 15 years into her sentence.
Martonio’s great-aunt said the young boy was “full of life”. She said: “He was so bright. He loved everybody. He just wanted to be loved. He would give you a hug.”
Martonio’s cousin added: “She always kept him in the corner. He was always in the corner, and everyone else was playing. What did he do now? Oh, he stole. What did he steal, food? He is probably hungry.”
The cousin alleged that child authorities did not act quickly enough on the signs the boy was being abused.
“I can’t take your child from you because you keep your kid in timeout too long,” they said. “I can’t take him from you even though I know you’re feeding the other two kids more than you’re feeding him.”
Franklin County Children’s Services is reported to have worked with them daily since May 2022, and the agency said that numerous support services were offered to Martonio’s mother during that time and that the police were also present. In the 18 months prior to the child’s death, officers went to the home at least 13 times.