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Gag order lifted in Takoda Collins case; new court records reveal new case details

DAYTON — Court documents are revealing new details about the case of 10-year-old Takoda Collins’ murder after the order that kept anyone involved in the case from talking about it publicly was lifted.

The gag order on the case was lifted after Al McLean pleaded guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and child endangering on Sept. 8.

In reviewing the new documents Monday, News Center 7′s John Bedell learned that McLean’s lawyers asked the judge for the gag order and to move McLean’s case out of Montgomery County, citing extensive media coverage.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Father and fiancée plead guilty in Takoda Collins murder case

On Dec. 13, 2019, Dayton police and medics responded to a Kensington Drive home after McLean reported that his 10-year-old son, Collins, was unresponsive.

Medics took Collins to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Previously released court documents state Collins had bruises and cuts all over his body.

According to court filings, Dayton Police said just hours after he murdered his son, McLean became unruly. Police said they could hear McLean making a loud “pounding” in the holding room. Police described it as sounding like “metal on concrete.”

McLean was found by two officers holding a chair “in a manner that could readily be swung at them.” McLean and the officers ended up on the ground as police worked to detain him. The incident resulted in McLean sustaining a cut on his lip.

>> Takoda Collins homicide: Investigating agencies did not share information, Prosecutor Heck says

Officers took McLean to Miami Valley Hospital to have his injury checked out. That was when police said McLean could be heard talking to himself about Collins, saying “I didn’t beat his [expletive] that bad today.”

McLean’s fiancée, Amanda Hinze, pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and child endangering in the case. A third suspect, Jennifer Ebert, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges on May 27, 2020.

McLean, Hinze and Ebert are scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday.

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