Inset: LaRonda Anne Mitchell (Mahoning County Jail). Background: The Ohio home where authorities allegedly found the decomposing body of a teenage girl sealed inside a bedroom (Google Maps).
A 38-year-old woman in Ohio is accused of sealing a dead teenager inside a bedroom in her home for several weeks before police responding to a welfare check discovered the body, according to local reports.
LaRonda Anne Mitchell was taken into custody this week and charged with one count each of involuntary manslaughter, abduction, endangering children, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse, along with a misdemeanor count of failing to report a crime, court records show.
The victim was identified as 16-year-old Donnamalay Davis by Youngstown, Ohio, NBC and CW affiliate WFMJ, after getting confirmation from the victim's father.
A concerned citizen requested the welfare check after someone at the home allegedly said the victim "was sick and needed to be healed by God," and that someone was already "gone," according to a report from Youngstown CBS affiliate WKBN.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the station, officers with the Austintown Police Department responded to a residence in the 1100 block of South Raccoon Road at about 4 p.m. for a welfare check on a teenager.
Upon arriving at the home, a woman who answered the door was described as "standoffish," according to a report from Youngstown CBS affiliate WKBN.
A 12-year-old child in the home reportedly told officers everything was fine, but a search of the home revealed a bedroom door that had been taped shut. Inside, officers discovered the body of a deceased female, later identified as Davis.
Someone inside the home reportedly told investigators that the room had been "sealed" to contain a smell, and that the person inside had been dead for at least a month.
The circumstances surrounding the death quickly took a disturbing turn, with investigators saying the situation appeared to be tied to religious healing. Individuals at the home allegedly told police that the death "had to happen" in order to "heal" the victim, who had been sick, WFMJ reported.
Due to redactions in the affidavit, it was not immediately clear if Mitchell was the woman police spoke with at the Raccoon Road home.
After discovering Davis' body, police took two additional children found inside the home into custody for their safety, authorities said.
Authorities issued a warrant for Mitchell's arrest on Monday and took her into custody the following day, booking her into the Mahoning County Jail.
Mitchell appeared before Judge Scott Hunter via video for her arraignment, where the court set her bond at $500,000.
Officials said the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office assisted in reviewing the case and recommended the charges, though prosecutors have declined to comment publicly on the allegations.
The Mahoning County Coroner's Office has not released the cause or manner of Davis' death, and it remains unclear how the teenager died as investigators continue to piece together what happened inside the home.
Mitchell is currently scheduled to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on May 27.