Police award officers for McKnight case

Dayton officers awarded for their dedication solving the Nichelle and Zaden McKnight homicide case Thursday simultaneously renewed their vow to find Zaden, who remains missing.

The McKnight case received the most recognition during the Dayton Police Department’s Award Ceremony, an annual celebration honoring the valor of its officers. Each officer who assisted with the case, along with the homicide unit, received citations for their dedication.

Included in the recognition was Officer Thadeu Holloway, who took the original missing persons report March 29, four days after Nichelle and 4-year-old Zaden were seen. Intuition led Holloway to contact the homicide and special victims units, and days later a CrimeStoppers tip along with cell phone records indicated the McKnights were murdered.

From there, detectives tracked down murder suspect Antwan Anderson —who later killed himself in a police shoot-out— and his alleged accomplice, Tonisha Harris, according to police.

Harris now faces two counts of gross negligence of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and failure to report a crime for her alleged role in their deaths.

“This case literally brought tears to my eyes,” said Chief Richard Biehl following Thursday’s award ceremony. “I was thinking about this and how do we ever get a satisfactory resolution? How do we ever give the family the answers that they deserve?”

Many detectives gave up their personal time, even when faced with their own personal tragedies, to work this case, said Lt. Wendy Stiver, commander of the homicide unit.

“They inspire me when I sit back and think of the things that they do, the effort they put into these cases, what they’re able to accomplish, particularly in this case,” she said.

Nichelle McKnight’s body was found April 11, 2014, but Zaden’s remains still haven’t been located. Biehl said police have exhausted all leads, and are turning to the public for help.

“It’s tremendous frustration. The family deserves to know what happened. They deserve to know what became of Zaden,” Biehl said.

To call in tips to police anonymously, call CrimeStoppers at (937) 222-7867.

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