Reported kidnapped
At 3:45 a.m. Saturday, Creachbaum’s mother’s boyfriend, Michael Kendrick, reported someone punched him and took the boy, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
An update posted to the dispatch log around 4:20 a.m. noted there was no indication the child was taken, but that he was missing. The log also claimed the caller was intoxicated.
Crews searched the home and alleyways in the area. They also cleared Ruskin Elementary School, where Creachbaum was a student.
Investigators used drones as well to assist in the search.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, Dayton police posted on social media asking for the public’s help locating Creachbaum.
“Hershall went missing from the 400 block of Xenia Avenue around 3:30 a.m.,” police said. “He is a person with autism and is non-verbal.”
The boy used a wheelchair but could walk short distances. However, police said the wheelchair had been located.
Body found
Less than 12 hours after seeking the public’s help, police shared an update saying the body of a juvenile believed to be Creachbaum had been found.
The identification is pending through the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
“This is a tragic outcome, and our thoughts are with those affected,” police said.
The remains were found on McClure Street near U.S. 35.
Mother, boyfriend charged
On Monday, Michael Kendrick was charged with three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse in Dayton Municipal Court.
Dayton police arrested Kendrick Saturday night and booked him into the Montgomery County Jail.
Kendrick’s bond was set at $2 million on Tuesday during his first court appearance.
Officers arrested the boy’s mother, Ashley Johnson, Monday morning on preliminary failure to report a death and obstructing justice charges.
She was formally charged with one count of obstructing justice on Wednesday. Her bond was set at $250,000.
Dayton police Chief Kamran Afzal said Monday more charges could be filed as the investigation continues.
Boy believed to be dead for weeks
During a press conference Monday, Afzal said investigators believe Creachbaum has been dead for weeks.
Municipal court records detailed a police interview with Kendrick and the boy’s mother. The boy’s name was redacted from the documents, but details matched the 911 dispatch log and statements from police about Creachbaum going missing.
Johnson initially claimed she saw Creachbaum playing with his sister the day before he was reported missing, according to court records.
“She stated she saw Michael playing with (the boy) when she went to bed and that he was OK,” an affidavit read.
Johnson reportedly admitted to investigators she lied and said Creachbaum died sometime in late May when she was having surgery in the hospital.
She told detectives boy was in Kendrick’s care at the time and said he told her Creachbaum died of natural causes, according to court documents.
“(Johnson) stated Michael disposed of his body in an unknown location by railroad tracks,” an affidavit read. “She stated that she never saw (the boy) after she came home.”
Kendrick told investigators he was drinking while in an argument on the phone and punched Creachbaum twice in the head, according to court records.
“He then pushed him down, causing him to bounce off the floor and striking other parts of his body,” an affidavit said. “He stated (the boy) died the next day in the shower.”
Kendrick reportedly kept the body in the house until it smelled and then put Creachbaum into a deep freezer.
He used a suitcase to leave the child’s remains in a grassy field, according to court records.
“He then after a few weeks went back and recovered the bones,” an affidavit read. “He placed them in a bag and put them in the 100 block of McClure Street.”
Boyfriend’s 911 call released
A 911 call reporting Creachbaum as kidnapped was released Tuesday.
Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records state Kendrick called 911 at 3:43 a.m. and claimed a man punched him in the face and took the boy.
“A tattooed man, he just ran away with my baby,” Kendrick said. “This is important. A person with a tattooed faced. He took my baby.”
The dispatch log noted Kendrick was intoxicated. He can be heard slurring his words during the call.
Kendrick told dispatchers the man who took Creachbaum was someone he helped previously, according to the 911 call.
“Go find him because I need my son back,” he said.
Before the call ended, a dispatcher asked Kendrick what he was wearing.
“Why are you trying to identify me like I’m involved?” Kendrick asked.
“You’re trying to identify the person that’s doing something wrong,” he said. “I’m not doing nothing wrong.”
Less than an hour after Kendrick called 911 the dispatch log was updated to say Creachbaum was missing, but there was no indication he was taken.
Family calls for justice
Missy Creachbaum, Hershall Creachbaum’s grandmother, said she hopes prosecutors will pursue the death penalty in this case. Or, she said, at the very least she hopes Kendrick and Hershall’s biological mother spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Missy Creachbaum, 53, who lives in Columbus, said Kendrick seemed like a decent guy and an OK parent, but looks can be deceiving.
“He was a monster and no one knew it,” she said.
Hershall Creachbaum’s great aunt, Jessica McNire, said he loved Kendrick and it appeared Kendrick loved him too.
“He would play with him,” said McNire. “He would sit and give Hershall a controller that didn’t work for the game system and he would let him push the buttons to think he was playing the game system.”
Now she said it feels like it was just a show.
Missy Creachbaum said she plans to try to attend all of Kendrick’s and the mother’s court hearings so she can give her grandson a voice.
“I need to make sure they get what they deserve,” she said. “They took an innocent life, why should they have a life?”
Missy Creachbaum said her grandson loved music and the TV show “Paw Patrol” and Superman. He was always delighted by toys that light up and make noises.
McNire said she thinks about Hershall Creachbaum’s last moments and what he was thinking.
“What was going through that baby’s head?” she asked. “Where did he suffer?”
Public reacts to boy’s death
The McClure Street bridge over U.S. 35 is covered with hundreds of balloons, flowers, stuffed animals and toys left in honor of Hershall Creachbaum.
Family and community members left notes expressing love and calling for justice.
His 11-year-old cousin, Lavaeh Benner, attached a note to the bridge on Monday that said, “I miss you Hershey! You didn’t deserve that! You’re kind, you never did anything bad or wrong ever.”
Ben Laprairie told the Dayton Daily News his family stopped by the memorial because they wanted to pay their respects after seeing news coverage about Hershall Creachbaum.
Staff writer Cornelius Frolik contributed to this report.
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