New court date set in death of abused Dayton 10-year-old boy

Amanda Hinze, left, and Al McLean, right

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Amanda Hinze, left, and Al McLean, right

A new court date has been set to hear more testimony in the motion to suppress hearing that was cut short last week in the case against a father and his girlfriend accused of killing a 10-year-old boy.

Al-Mutahan McLean and Amanda Hinze are both due back in court on March 4. Both are accused in the death of Takoda Collins.

Authorities have said in court documents that Takoda suffered “extreme abuse” before his death. Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said in a previous release that Takoda was tortured both mentally and physically for years.

The defendants are each charged with multiple felonies. McLean, 31, was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, rape, kidnapping and endangering children. Hinze, 29, faces involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and child endangering charges. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty in the case, and both remain in the Montgomery County Jail on $1 million bond.

The Dayton Daily News was the only media in the courtroom last week when the motion to suppress hearing began. The defense for McLean and Hinze have asked a judge to bar evidence collected by law enforcement in the case, including statements they made to police and items collected from search warrants during their investigation.

During the hearing, A Dayton police officer and detectives spoke about how they began their investigation and what took place as authorities tried to figure out how Takoda died. Detective Zachary Farkas testified that when McLean was taken downtown for questioning, McLean began making loud noises with a chair from the interview room and force had to be to be used to detain him. McLean’s lip was hurt during the struggle, and he was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

McLean was released within an hour, the detective testified.

Defense attorneys questioned officers Thursday about their tactics and whether law enforcement followed procedure when they obtained consent to search signatures from Hinze and search warrants from a judge.

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