Kendrick is facing tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse charges and Johnson was charged with obstruction of justice after Hershall Creachbaum Jr.’s remains were found near the McClure Street bridge over U.S. 35 in Dayton this summer.
Early on July 12, Kendrick reported a man punched him and took Hershall, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
Dayton police responded to the Xenia Avenue home and determined the boy was missing, but that there was no evidence he was kidnapped.
During interviews that day, Johnson and Kendrick admitted Hershall died sometime in late May, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
Kendrick told detectives he was drinking while in an argument on the phone when he punched the boy in the head twice, according to an affidavit. He reportedly shoved Hershall and struck him.
The boy allegedly died the next day.
Johnson was hospitalized at the time. She told investigators Kendrick told her Hershall died of natural causes when she came home, according to court documents. She never saw Hershall after she came home.
Kendrick allegedly kept Hershall in a deep freezer and used a suitcase to take him to a grassy field.
After a few weeks Kendrick collected Hershall’s bones and left them in a bag on McClure Street, according to court records.
In October the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office formally identified the remains as Hershall. His cause and manner of death is undetermined.
On Wednesday Kendrick’s attorney filed a motion to suppress comments Kendrick made during an interview with detectives.
His attorney claims the statements were involuntary and made without an accurate understanding and waiver of Kendrick’s constitutional rights, according to common pleas court records.
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