Bond set at $2M for man accused of disposing of 7-year-old’s body in Dayton

He made his first court appearance electronically on Tuesday before Magistrate Brandon McClain.

“Based upon on the severity of the charges and the information contained within the report, which is severe and significant, I do find that a monetary bond is more than appropriate in this matter,” McClain said.

He set Kendrick’s bond at $2 million. If Kendrick makes bond he will be on the electronic home detention program.

McClain assigned a public defender to represent Kendrick and scheduled his next hearing for July 22.

The charges stem from a missing person investigation Saturday that ended with Dayton police finding the remains of a juvenile on McClure Street near U.S. 35.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is working to confirm the identity, but police believe the boy to be Hershall Creachbaum, Kendrick’s girlfriend’s son.

Creachbaum was a non-verbal boy with autism who used a wheelchair.

Kendrick initially reported someone kidnapped Creachbaum around 3:45 a.m. Saturday on Xenia Avenue.

During the investigation police determined the boy hadn’t been seen in weeks and was likely dead.

Detectives interviewed Kendrick and the boy’s mother Saturday at the Public Safety Building.

Creachbaum’s mother said the boy died in late May while she was in the hospital having surgery, according to court records.

She reportedly never saw her son after she came home, and Kendrick told her he died of natural causes.

Kendrick told detectives he was arguing on the phone while drinking and punched the boy in the head twice, according to court documents.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

“He then pushed him down, causing him to bounce off the floor and striking other parts of his body,” an affidavit read. “He stated (the boy) died the next day in the shower.”

Kendrick reportedly kept the body in the house until it began to smell and then moved it to a deep freezer.

He used a suitcase to carry the boy to a grassy field. He told police he returned after a few weeks and put the bones in a bag and left them on McClure Street, according to court records.

Creachbaum’s mother was arrested on Monday for preliminary failure to report a death and obstructing justice charges. Formal charges have not been filed as of Tuesday afternoon.