8-year-old boy found dead from ‘deep neck compression’ wrapped in trash bag in family attic

An Ohio mother and her partner have been arrested in the death of an eight-year-old boy whose body was found wrapped in a trash can in the family’s attic.

Martonio Wilder, 8, was found Friday in a trash bag in the attic of the Milo-Grogan neighborhood home. The coroner’s office determined the young boy died from “deep neck compression,” according to court records obtained by NBC4.

His mother, Lashanda Wilder, 32, called Columbus police around noon Friday, saying she had last seen her son around bedtime Thursday night, records show.

Police issued a missing person’s report for Martonio and began a K9 search in the local neighborhood; however, court records reportedly indicate that Wilder became “uncooperative” during the search, with a police report indicating she did not want the K9 brought to her home.

Meanwhile, Wilder and Johnna Lowe, 33, who local media reported as Wilder’s partner, left without telling police where they were going, taking Wilder’s two other children, aged three and nine.

Later that day, Martonio’s body was found and he was pronounced dead around 6:30 p.m., with police briefly issuing an Amber Alert for his brothers, who have since been found unharmed and placed in wards. Franklin County childhood.

Arrest warrants were issued Saturday for Wilder and Lowe, who eventually turned themselves in.

On Monday, the couple had arraignment hearings in Franklin County Municipal Court, where Wilder, who was not present at the hearing, was charged with murder and obstructing justice after the death de Martonio was classified as a homicide, according to the media.

She was given a $2 million bail, while Lowe was given a $500,000 bail after being charged only with obstruction of justice.

On Saturday night, Martonio’s family, including several of his younger cousins, gathered outside the crime scene to mourn the eight-year-old’s life by lighting candles and releasing balloons.

“I’m still in disbelief because how dare you; if you didn’t love your son, you should have let him stay with people who love him,” said Lashanda Wilder’s aunt, Rachelle Knight. Health and Social Services Networks (WBNS).

“Martonio was a brilliant child. All he wanted was to be loved,” she added. “He wanted to be loved.”

Martonio’s cousin, Seia Glover, also told the Columbus’s Dispatch that he had not seen such a thing happen in their family.

“Some of the minor things that were red flags but didn’t really seem to lead to something like this of this magnitude, it caught us all off guard. She had support,” Glover told the newspaper.

“There is no excuse for this boy to be dead. There’s no reason for him to be locked away in the attic like he doesn’t matter. »