A woman and her boyfriend have been charged in the death of the woman's 2-year-old daughter, whose body was found in a rural area of central Indiana, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Madison Marshall, 22, and Roan Waters, 25, were charged for their alleged roles in the death and disappearance of Marshall’s daughter, Oaklee Snow, said Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears.
It's alleged that "Oaklee suffered a horrific death and an abandonment that diminished the dignity that any child deserves," Mears said in a statement.
Waters was charged with murder, battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and several other counts. Marshall was also charged with numerous counts, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and assisting a criminal.
In January, Oaklee’s biological father told authorities that Marshall and Waters took Oaklee and his younger son from his Cromwell, Oklahoma, home, without authorization and were allegedly headed to Indianapolis, according to court records.
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Marshall told investigators she left her son at a house in Indianapolis but she gave no explanation for what happened to Oaklee, records state.
Indianapolis police announced on April 21 that a child’s remains had been found in rural Morgan County, about 27 miles south of Indianapolis, but released few details.
Oaklee's body was found in a dresser drawer inside an abandoned Morgan County structure, according to court records. Marshall told investigators that Waters killed her daughter before they moved her body to that location in February, WTHR-TV reported.
Marshall appeared Wednesday for an initial court hearing on the charges and was ordered held on $200,000 bond. A message seeking comment from her attorney was left by The Associated Press.
Online court records do not list an attorney for Waters.
