A Columbus mother accused of a harrowing crime has entered a guilty plea in the murder of her 8-year-old son. LaShanda Wilder, 33, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, as was recommended by prosecutors following her June 15 plea. The charges included murder, gross abuse of a corpse, and theft from her workplace, according to a report from the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.
Wilder's initial stance was one of defiance, claiming not guilty to a series of charges that painted a grave narrative of her alleged actions: murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, endangering children, and abuse of a corpse. For over a year, she's been behind bars in the Franklin County Jail, under a $2 million bond. But the story Thomas unfolded on June 28, 2024, when police responded to a missing child report on Olmstead Avenue, as detailed by the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.
The search for Martonio Wilder, the young boy who became the unfortunate center of this tale, escalated quickly with police deploying helicopters and cadaver dogs. What started as a search for a boy who ran away ended in a grim discovery: his body, concealed in a trash bag in the attic of his own home. Martonio's autopsy revealed the darker, underlying narrative of abuse — asphyxia by neck compression being the cause of death. With a frame marred by bruises and indicative of severe malnourishment, the boy's life was indisputably one filled with suffering, the Prosecutor's Office stated.
Wilder was not alone in her plea, her girlfriend, Johnna Lowe, 34, entered a guilty plea to similar charges related to Martonio's death. On June 5, Lowe received the same sentence—a possibility of parole following 15 years of a life sentence. Compounding the tragedy, Lowe's mother, Mary S. Johnson, 69, entangled herself in the case by obstructing justice, a fifth-degree felony to which she pleaded guilty. Though not as severe as the sentences received by the younger women, Johnson was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and two years of community control, as reported by the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office.
In a landscape marred by instances of unimaginable cruelty, events such as these prompt us to reexamine the very nature of justice and rehabilitation. With two women beginning their lengthy sentences and a child's life tragically cut short, Columbus is left to grapple with the echoes of this macabre episode. Further information on the case and details of the sentences can be found on the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office website.
