The bodies of two missing teenagers were found in the basement of a burned-out house, according to WTOL11 News. Sixteen-year-old Ke’Marion Wilder and 15-year-old Kyshawn Pittman were found in the vacant home in Toledo, Ohio, on Dec. 15.
The two boys were last seen on Dec. 3 at approximately 8:14 p.m. at a party at the Maumee Bay Resort in Oregon, Ohio. Five people have been arrested and charged in connection with the case. Cruz Garcia, 24, was charged with kidnapping and murder. Diamond Rivera, Carrissa Eames, Crystal LaForge-Yingling, and Corbin Gingrich were charged with obstruction.
Video footage obtained by the police showed the teenagers being picked up from the party by a silver SUV after they were asked to leave for allegedly having a gun in their possession. The ride was reportedly arranged by Gingrich’s niece, who was the girlfriend of one of the boys. Eames and Gingrich were seen leaving with Wilder and Pittman. Nearly two weeks later, the boys were found dead in a vacant house on Chase Street near New York Avenue. A fire broke out at the house on Dec. 5, but the boys weren’t immediately found due to a firefighter falling through a staircase at the home.
A search warrant was conducted by the police on Eames’ home on the 500 block of Maumee Avenue on Dec. 9 at 6:15 p.m. Both boys were seen on a video chat from the basement at 9:06 p.m. on Dec. 3. The police found evidence of assault, 11 rounds of ammunition, several bags of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a piece of glass with what appeared to be blood on it. After questioning LaForge-Yingling, Gingrich, and Eames on Dec. 13, the police returned to the vacant house on Chase Street and found the bodies of the two boys two days later.
Garcia was arrested on Dec. 15. He allegedly tied up one of the boys and repeatedly hit him with a gun. According to Lucas County Assistant Prosecutor John Arnsby, the cause of death of one of the victims was strangulation and thermal burns. The second boy also died from thermal burns.
Garcia’s bail was set at $2.25 million. Lt. Dan Gerken is asking anyone with pertinent information to come forward.
“This is an ongoing case,” Gerken said. “We’re not even close to being done.”
GoFundMe pages were set up to help with funeral expenses for both teens. M’Aaliya Nino, Wilder’s sister, spoke about her brother at a vigil on Dec. 16.
“He was a good person,” Nino said. “He was very outgoing. He lights up any room he’s ever been in … He was the glue to my family. We’ll miss him.”