An Ohio mother and her partner have been arrested following the death of eight-year-old Martonio Wilder, whose body was discovered wrapped in a garbage bag in the attic of their home. Martonio’s body was found inside the attic of their Milo-Grogan neighborhood residence on Friday. The coroner’s office confirmed that the boy died from deep neck compression, according to court records obtained by NBC4.

Martonio’s mother, Lashanda Wilder, 32, contacted Columbus Police around noon on Friday, stating that she had last seen her son Thursday night at bedtime. Officers began a search utilizing a variety of tools, including drones and a helicopter. Eventually, they brought in a cadaver dog trained to detect scents of human decomposition to aid in the search. However, court records indicate that Wilder became uncooperative during the search and did not want the K9 brought inside her home.

Meanwhile, Wilder and Johnna Lowe, 33 — reported to be Wilder’s partner — left without informing police of their destination, taking Wilder’s two other children, aged three and nine, with them. Authorities issued a missing person advisory for Martonio and began searching the local area with the K9 unit. Later that day, Martonio’s body was found in the attic, and he was pronounced dead around 6:30 PM. His brothers were eventually found safe and placed under the care of Franklin County Children’s Services.

Dealing with Discovery and Arrests

Arrest warrants were issued Saturday for both Wilder and Lowe, who later turned themselves in. On Monday, during a Franklin County Municipal Court arraignment hearing, Wilder was charged with murder and obstruction of justice following Martonio’s death being ruled a homicide. She was granted a $2m bond. In contrast, Lowe faced charges for obstruction of justice and received a $500,000 bond.

A Community Mourning

On Saturday evening, Martonio’s family gathered outside their home for a candlelight vigil to mourn his death. Many cousins and community members attended to show their support by lighting candles and releasing balloons in his memory. Lashanda Wilder’s aunt, Rachelle Knight, told WBNS I’m still in disbelief because how dare you; if you didn’t love your son, you should’ve let him stay with people who love him.

Seia Glover, Martonio’s cousin, expressed shock regarding the incident to the Columbus Dispatch, saying that they did not anticipate such an event within their family: Some minor things were red flags but didn’t seem like they would lead to something of this magnitude; it caught us all off guard. She had support. Glover added passionately: There’s no excuse for this boy to be dead. There’s no reason for him to be stuffed up in the attic like he didn’t matter.