“Initially, Ms. Johnson stated she saw her son and her daughter playing on July 11, 2025,” a Dayton Municipal Court affidavit read. “She stated that Michael was playing with (the boy) when she went to bed and that he was OK.”
She later told police that her son died while she was having surgery in the hospital sometime in late May, according to court records.
“She stated Michael disposed of (the boy’s) body in an unknown location by the railroad tracks,” an affidavit read. “She stated that she never saw (her son) after she came home.”
Johnson said Kendrick told her Creachbaum died from natural causes, according to court records.
Johnson was arrested Monday and charged with one count of obstructing justice in Dayton Municipal Court.
She appeared electronically in court Wednesday and her bond was set at $250,000. If she makes bond she’ll be on the electronic home detention program.
Her next hearing is scheduled for July 24.
Around 3:45 a.m. Saturday, Dayton police responded to a report of a missing child in the 400 block of Xenia Avenue.
Kendrick claimed a man punched him and took Crechbaum, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
Crews determined the boy was missing, but he hadn’t been kidnapped.
“During an interview with Michael, he stated that while drinking and in an argument over the phone, he punched (the boy) in the head twice,” according to an affidavit. “He then pushed him down, causing him to bounce off the floor and striking other parts of his body.”
Creachbaum allegedly died the next day.
Kendrick reportedly told detectives he kept the boy’s body in the house, but put it in a deep freezer after it began to smell.
He used a suitcase to take the body to a grassy field. Kendrick claimed he returned a few weeks later, put the bones in a bag and left them on McClure Street, according to court documents.
Kendrick is facing three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse. His bond was set at $2 million on Tuesday.
Dayton police Chief Kamran Afzal said the remains found Saturday on McClure Street near U.S. 35 are believed to be Creachbaum, but the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office will formally confirm the identity.
During a hearing in Montgomery County Juvenile Court Monday, Magistrate Moira Murty granted children services temporary custody of Creachbaum’s 11-year-old sister, who was also living in the Xenia Avenue home.
Her father will have parenting time with her as approved by children services, according to court documents.
Records indicated the father will seek custody of her.
Johnson and Kendrick “shall have absolutely no contact by any means with the child under further court order,” according to court documents.
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