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Lashanda Wilder pleaded guilty on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, to murder in the death of her 8-year-old son, Martonio Wilder, in Columbus, Ohio, and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Wilder, who had pleaded not guilty and spent more than a year in jail, also pleaded guilty to gross abuse of a corpse and theft from her workplace. Her sentence, imposed the same day, included the maximum for murder, plus 12-month terms on the abuse of a corpse and theft counts.

Wilder's girlfriend, Johnna Lowe, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to murder and gross abuse of a corpse. On June 5, 2025, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, with a 12-month term for gross abuse of a corpse to run at the same time. Lowe's mother, Mary S. Johnson, was also charged with obstructing justice. Johnson pleaded guilty on July 7, 2025, to obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony, and received a suspended 12-month prison sentence and two years of community control.

Martonio lived with his mother and two brothers, ages 9 and 3, in the 1000 block of Olmstead Avenue in Columbus' Milo-Grogan neighborhood. Wilder was 32 when she was charged; Lowe was then 33. Franklin County Children Services had been involved with the family since May 2022. Prosecutors later said Martonio had been subjected to what they called unusual punishments, including being made to walk up and down the stairs naked while holding a weighted ball, and having his food restricted.

Columbus police were called to the home just after noon on Friday, June 28, 2024, after Wilder reported Martonio missing. She told officers she had last seen him around 9:30 p.m. the night before, when she put him to bed, and feared he had run away. Officers searched for hours with a police helicopter and a cadaver dog. Police said Wilder and Lowe became uncooperative, and a police report states Wilder did not want a K-9 officer brought into her home. The women left with Wilder's two other sons, and an Amber Alert was issued. The boys were found safe with Lowe's mother. At about 6:20 p.m., officers found Martonio's body in a trash bag in the home's small attic.

The autopsy found that Martonio died of asphyxia by neck compression. It also found blunt force trauma, with multiple bruises and cuts to his face and head, and severe malnutrition and dehydration. He weighed 35 pounds.

Wilder and Lowe turned themselves in on June 29, 2024. Wilder was first charged with murder and obstructing justice, and Lowe with obstructing justice. Wilder was interviewed by Columbus police detectives; Lowe was questioned separately. A Franklin County grand jury indicted both women on July 8, 2024, on five counts each: murder, felonious assault, endangering children, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. At their arraignment in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on July 10, 2024, bond was set at 2 million dollars for Wilder and 1.25 million dollars for Lowe.

At that hearing, an assistant county prosecutor said Lowe had spoken with detectives the day after her arrest. He said she first told them one of Martonio's brothers had killed him with a rock, then admitted that was a lie. According to the prosecutor, Lowe said she and Wilder had made up the story that he ran away, that the two of them beat Martonio with a crutch on June 26, 2024, and that they wrapped a cord around his neck.

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Part 2 of 2 of the recording described above.

[chris]

Johnna Lowe pleaded guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse in the death of 8-year-old Martonio Wilder in Columbus, Ohio, and was sentenced on June 5, 2025, to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Lowe, the girlfriend of Martonio's mother, Lashanda Wilder, was charged along with Wilder in the boy's 2024 death. Lowe entered her guilty pleas in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Lowe turned herself in on June 29, 2024, and was first charged with obstructing justice. At a July 10, 2024 hearing, an assistant county prosecutor said she spoke with detectives the day after her arrest.

The prosecutor said Lowe first told detectives one of Martonio's brothers had killed him with a rock. She then admitted that was a lie and that she and Wilder had made up the story that the boy ran away.

The prosecutor said Lowe told detectives that she and Wilder beat Martonio with a crutch on June 26, 2024, and wrapped a cord around his neck.

A grand jury had indicted Lowe on July 8, 2024, on murder, felonious assault, endangering children, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

[chris]

Part 2 of 3 of Johnna Lowe Questioned in Martonio Wilder's Death.

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Part 3 of 3 of Johnna Lowe Questioned in Martonio Wilder's Death.