DAYTON — Criminal proceedings will be allowed to continue in the case of a 7-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who was found dead in July.
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Ashley Johnson, the mother of 7-year-old Hershall Creehbaum, and her boyfriend, Michael Kendrick, are facing charges in relation to Creachbaum’s death.
Creachbaum’s remains were found at the McClure Street bridge in July after he had been reported missing.
Kendrick reportedly led investigators to Cheachbaum’s remains just hours after he first called 911, claiming the boy had been kidnapped.
Johnson and Kendrick both requested competency hearings in early October, according to court documents.
On Thursday, both Johnson and Kendrick were found competent to stand trial in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.
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As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, members of Creachbaum’s family were in court on Thursday and were happy with the ruling.
“I’m glad they were found competent because, you know what, they’re not going to get out of it. They deserve every bit of this,” Chasity Rollins said.
The family is working on a permanent memorial for the 7-year-old, but they’re also focused on getting charges against Johnson and Kendrick upgraded. So far, neither has been charged directly with the boy’s death.
“It’s hard for them to rule something as a permanent cause of death, but despite that, he admitted it. We know what happened,” Rollins said.
So far, lawyers for the couple have not asked for a second opinion on their competency, but they have both filed motions asking the judge to throw out certain pieces of evidence from being used at trial.
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