DAYTON — Three people are facing charges in connection to the death of a 10-year-old boy who was subjected to “extreme abuse” for years and locked in a dark attic while naked, according to court records.
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Al-Mutahan McLean, 30, was indicted on fours counts of endangering children, two counts of felonious assault and one count of rape of a person younger than 13, according to a grand jury report.
McLean’s fiancee Amanda Lee Hinze, 28, and her sister Jennifer Ebert, 25, are each facing four counts of endangering children.
Bond was set at $1 million for Hinze and Ebert during arraignments Monday.
McLean was scheduled to appear Monday for a preliminary hearing, but his case was bound over to a Montgomery County grand jury.
Bond was set at $1 million for McLean on Dec. 16, according to court records. His arraignment is Dec. 31 in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
The cases against Hinze and Ebert will be presented to a grand jury, according to the prosecutor’s office.
On Dec. 13, McLean called 911 to a Kensington Drive home because his 10-year-old son, Takoda Collins, was unresponsive, according to a court affidavit and statement of facts.
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The child had “multiple cuts and bruises all over his body” and was taken to Dayton Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
During interviews with McLean, Hinze and Ebert, detectives learned that “there had been extreme abuse for an extended amount of time inflicted by McLean,” according to the court affidavit.
“Takoda was kept in a dirty, locked, dark attic and abused daily over the course of several years,” said court documents. “The interviews also revealed that Takoda was held underwater and gasping for breath prior to succumbing to his injuries.”
“McLean physically and emotionally abused Takoda while Hinze and Ebert allowed it and at times reported to McLean if Takoda was not doing what he was supposed to,” the affidavit said. “Hinze and Ebert knew that reporting to McLean would result in a beating. None of the parties attempted to get Takoda help during these years of abuse.”
Montgomery County Children Services spokesman Kevin Lavoie said the agency’s records are confidential and said the agency did not have an open case from the Kensington Drive address on Dec. 13 when the 10-year-old child died.
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The agency now does have an open case involving that address, Lavoie said.
A 3-year-old boy also was in the house at the time of the 10-year-old’s death, Lavoie said, and the agency is ensuring his safety now. Lavoie said he could not elaborate.
The cause and manner of Collins’ death is pending at this time, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Hinze is the girlfriend of McLean and Ebert is Hinze’s sister, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The family lived in Dayton, but Collins was home-schooled, according to Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli.
Under current rules with home-schooled students, everything Is handled through the mail, Lolli said.
“We don’t see the student,” she said.
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Because it’s a holiday week, Lolli said the district couldn’t immediately say when the child was withdrawn.
We are working to learn more about the investigation and will continue to update this story as more information is available.
