Mother of 2 girls found buried in suitcases charged with murder
FILE - A view of a Cleveland police patch on a officer's shoulder on May 8, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
The mother of two young girls who were found inside suitcases and buried in shallow graves was charged with aggravated murder on Thursday, police said.
Aliyah Henderson, 28, is accused of killing Mila Chatman, 8, and Amor Wilson, 10. The girls were half sisters.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the names late Thursday and said DNA relationship testing helped identify them.
Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said earlier Thursday that police detained Henderson on Wednesday evening after detectives completed initial interviews and examined evidence.
A child, seemingly in good health, was located inside a house that investigators searched and placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, police said.
Dig deeper:
Mila’s father, DeShaun Chatman, said he had been looking for his daughter and was trying to get custody of her for five years.
What they're saying:
"It’s very much horrible," Chatman said, adding that it turned out Mila had been living within view of where their bodies were found. He said he felt "useless — I couldn’t save my baby."
"Mila was happy-go-lucky, always smiling," Chatman said. "Favorite color was pink — she swore that she was a princess. She was always happy. She was a kid's kid."
The children’s cause of death has yet to be released as of this report.
Dog walker finds suitcase
The backstory:
A man discovered the half-buried suitcase after he followed his dog that ran toward a fence near a playground.
He said he called police after unzipping the suitcase and seeing a head.
A police case report said the two suitcases were found about 25 feet (8 meters) apart in the field near Ginn Academy in Cleveland’s South Collinwood neighborhood.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and previous reporting by FOX News.