MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ohio (WDTN) – The three people who were arrested and charged in connection with the death of 10-year-old Takoda Collins pleaded not guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.
Al-Mutahan McLean, 30, of Dayton, pleaded not guilty to one charge of rape of a person under the age of 13, two counts of felonious assault (serious harm), and four counts of endangering children. McLean was Collins’ father.
McLean’s girlfriend, Amanda Hinze, and Hinze’s sister, Jennifer Ebert, both pleaded not guilty to four counts of endangering children.
The affidavit went on to say that “none of the parties attempted to get Takoda help during these years of abuse.”
Preliminary findings from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office stated Collins suffered multiple cases of blunt force trauma. The 10-year-old’s body showed blunt force injuries to the head and torso; numerous pattern injuries to the torso and extremities; extensive scarring to his remote torso and extremity trauma; and healing rib fractures of the left and right thoracic cage.
The findings also stated Collins suffered gross necrosis (cell injury or cell death) of the liver, pending a microscopic exam. There were also signs that Collins was sexually assaulted.
An affidavit filed by Detective Michelle Schloss of the Dayton Police Department stated interviews with the three charged in the case indicated “extreme abuse for an extended amount of time inflicted (on Collins) by McLean.” They said Collins was locked in the attic of their home and “possibly held underwater prior to him succumbing to his injuries” along with other abuses.
A press release sent from the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office after they were indicted said the investigation into Collins’s death is ongoing.
Takoda’s father is being held on a $1,000,000 bond, while his girlfriend and her sister are being held on a $500,000 bond.
They are scheduled to appear again in court on January 15.
