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CLEVELAND (BFMG) — Cleveland authorities have identified the two young girls found dead inside suitcases buried in shallow graves near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue as Amor Wilson, 10, and Mila Chatman, 8, their mother Aliyah Henderson, 28, has been charged with double murder and child endangerment.
The sisters were discovered Monday evening in a field in the South Collinwood neighborhood, near Ginn Academy. A man walking his dog noticed the animal repeatedly alerting to a scent near a fence line by a playground. He found a partially buried suitcase, unzipped it, saw a child’s head inside, and immediately called 911 around 6 p.m.
Cleveland Division of Police officers located a shallow grave containing one suitcase with a body. Homicide detectives expanding the search found a second shallow grave nearby with another suitcase.
Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd described the discovery as a “terrible, horrific situation” and “traumatic” for officers and the community. “This is just such a tragic incident, but we are trying to develop any leads we can,” Todd said at a news conference. She noted no active missing child reports matched the girls at the time and urged tips from the public.
Family members told investigators a circulating 2019 photo shows the sisters — then Amor at 3 years old and Mila at 1 — at a doctor’s appointment with their mother and grandmother.
Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed through DNA testing that the girls were half sisters. Authorities said the remains had been at the site “for some time,” with no immediate cause of death visible and no dismemberment. Ages were refined to 8½–13 and 10½–14 initially.
Henderson was taken into custody Wednesday for questioning and booked into Cuyahoga County Jail. Neighbors identified her home — near the discovery site — as the location of a police search warrant.
Todd said local, state, and federal partners are assisting. “We know that this didn’t just happen,” she added, noting no immediate public safety threat. The investigation continues.
