A 38-year-old woman in Ohio faces multiple charges after authorities discovered the decomposing body of a 16-year-old girl sealed inside a bedroom at her home during a welfare check.
LaRonda Anne Mitchell was arrested this week and charged with involuntary manslaughter, abduction, endangering children, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and failing to report a crime. The victim, identified as Donnamalay Davis, was found in a residence on South Raccoon Road in Austintown after officers responded to concerns that the teenager was sick and needed healing through religious means. A 12-year-old child at the home told police everything was fine, but officers found a bedroom door taped shut and discovered the body inside, which had reportedly been there for at least a month to contain the smell. Two other children were removed from the home for their safety following the discovery. Mitchell appeared via video for her arraignment before Judge Scott Hunter, who set bond at $500,000. She is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on May 27. The Mahoning County Coroner's Office has not yet released the cause of death as the investigation continues.