COLUMBUS, Ohio — The mother of 8-year-old Martonio Wilder and her girlfriend were indicted Monday by a Franklin County grand jury on several charges related to his death.
The couple turned themselves in a day after authorities found Martonio’s body inside the attic of a Columbus home and issued warrants for their arrest on June 28.
Franklin County Municipal Court records say the coroner found "deep neck compression" on the child.
Both women, 32-year-old LaShanda Wilder and 33-year-old Johnna Lowe, are now charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, endangering children, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
RELATED: Police release bodycam video of initial search for Martonio Wilder before his body was found
What happened
Officers were called to a home on Olmstead Avenue on reports of a missing child on June 28. When officers arrived, they spoke to LaShanda, who reported that Martonio was last seen between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. when he was put to bed the night before.
Records from the Franklin County Municipal Court show officers searched the home without success, and the Missing Persons Unit responded.
Detectives had a K-9 cadaver dog called in to search the home. Court records say, at that time, LaShanda became "uncooperative" and didn't want the dog inside her home. She left the area with Lowe and two other children.
Around 6:20 p.m. on June 28, a body matching the description of Martonio was found hidden in the home's attic in a trash bag and sleeping bag cover, according to court records. Firefighters pronounced him dead at 6:33 p.m. and foul play was suspected in his death.
Records from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office revealed the attic was about 2 feet tall, and otherwise empty, filled with dust and dirt.
Court records say the coroner's office ruled Martonio's death a homicide.
Martonio’s autopsy pictures revealed visible bruises on the boy’s face around his eyes, nose and mouth, as well as lacerations and cuts on his face and back. Pictures also showed bleeding on the brain and that his body appeared abnormally thin.
Around 9 p.m. that day, an AMBER Alert was issued for Martonio's two siblings and LaShanda. The two siblings were safely located at Lowe's home with her mother on East 18th Avenue a short time later. LaShanda and Lowe were not there.
Detectives and family members tried to reach both women with no success.
Wilder and Lowe left during the active investigation and did not call detectives to explain their disappearance or ask about the investigation, according to court records. They turned themselves in to the police the following day.
Their arraignments are scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Rachelle Knight, Martonio's great aunt, previously told 10TV there were signs LaShanda was not taking good care of her son. When family tried to step in, Knight said LaShanda kept them at a distance.
"They used to get dropped off at my house when they got out of school, the bus would drop them off at my house. I would feed them, I would buy them clothes and stuff, I'm like, I'm not sending them to school like that,” Knight said.
Knight added Martonio once told her his mother put him in the closet and threw a pack of crackers in there for him to eat.
Knowing what they know now, the family is wishing they had done more.
"If I could have took him.... he'd still be alive,” Knight said.