Lashanda Wilder: Girlfriend pleads guilty to involvement in murder of Wilder's son
Johnna Lowe admits to abusing the 8-year-old boy, and that Wilder wanted to blame boy's sibling for his murder
A woman charged with the death of her girlfriend’s son has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to life in prison.
Johnna Lowe changed her original not guilty plea, admitting to her part in the murder of her girlfriend, Lashanda Wilder’s, 8-year-old son, Martonio in June 2024, according to 10TV. In pleading guilty to one count of murder and one count of abuse of a corpse, prosecutors dropped the other charges of endangering children, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Lowe entered the guilty plea on June 5, 2025, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Columbus Police issued a media release which described the call they responded to at about 12:04 p.m. on June 28, 2024, when 32-year old Lashanda Wilder reported her son, Martonio, missing. Officers arrived at the home on the 1000 block of Olmstead Ave. in Columbus, Ohio. Wilder told police she last saw her son between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. when Martonio went to bed.
Upon gathering evidence, police began to suspect foul play. The media release notes that the Homicide Unit was brought in to assist. They found Martonio at about 6:20 p.m. inside the residence, where he was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m.
The Dispatch reports that police located Martonio’s body in the attic of the home. An autopsy determined that he died from “deep neck compressions.” Citing court documents, the outlet adds that the boy’s remains were found in a trash bag within another container.
Police used drones and a helicopter to conduct the initial search for Martonio. Cadaver dogs were also brought in to detect the scent of human decomposition. When Wilder became uncooperative, police asked permission to bring the dog into the home to conduct a search.
Wilder and her partner, Johnna Lowe, left the home with the other two children residing there. Martonio’s remains were discovered after police obtained a search warrant.
The women didn’t return to the home nor did they contact police after they left. The Dispatch reports, once more citing court records, that Wilder and Lowe turned their phones off and dropped the two kids, a 9-year old and a 3-year old, off with one of Lowe’s relatives. An Amber Alert was issued to find the children. As per 10TV, the children were found at the home of Lowe’s mother.
Lowe and Wilder remained in the wind until they surrendered themselves to police on June 29, 2024, the Dispatch notes, and were taken to Franklin County Jail.
Franklin County Family Services (FCFS) have taken custody of the kids in light of the arrests.
10TV reported that Wilder and Lowe pleaded not guilty on July 10. Wilder faces murder and obstruction of justice charges, while Lowe has only been charged with obstruction of justice. Wilder was given a $2 million bond while the judge granted one to Lowe for $1 million.
At the bond hearing, 10TV notes that the women both showed little emotion, despite the prosecutor reading the heartbreaking details of the case.
“Miss Wilder admits to locking Martonio in a small coat closet where he slept at night so they can’t sneak out for food. Miss Lowe admitted to beating Martonio on June 26. Hitting him in the back with an extension cord and crutch,” the prosecutor said.
Autopsy pictures outline the grim shape the young boy was in: Bruises were evident around his eyes, nose, and mouth. Lacerations and cuts marked his face and back. The autopsy also revealed a bleeding on the brain and and an abnormally thin body.
Assistant Prosecutor Scott Sugarman explained that Lowe revealed to detectives her and Wilder’s intention to concoct a story about Martonio running away to explain his absence, the Dispatch says. Lowe initially told detectives in an interview the day after her arrest that one of Martonio’s brothers killed him by hitting him with a rock. After, Lowe admitted it was a lie.
According to Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Meyer, Lowe also told police that Wilder planned to blame one of Martonio’s siblings for his death.
Lowe also revealed that she and Wilder had a history of depriving Martonio of food and locking him in the closet. She eventually admitted that she and Wilder wrapped a cord around the young boy’s neck, according to Sugarman.
Lowe’s mother, Mary Johnson, also faces charges of obstructing justice. Her first court appearance was scheduled for July 22, 2024, but no updates have been reported since.
ABC6 On Your Side obtained 911 calls from the Columbus Police which revealed that Johnson called and reported the location of the kids.
“The police have an Amber Alert out there. They are at my house. I had a detective come here but he didn’t ask about them. He never asked about the kids,” Johnson said to the dispatcher.
When the dispatcher told Johnson the police would be coming to see the kids, Johnson said: “They can come by and get the kids. I am not a family member or anything. I just know her (Lashanda) because she dates my daughter.”
ABC 6 reported that police had responded to Wilder’s home 13 times since January 2023. Eight days before police discovered Martonio’s body, they had been at the home in response to a disturbance call. In the year and half before that, police responded to the home three times for domestic violence, twice for domestic disturbance, and at one point for a stabbing.
Director of Communications for Franklin County Children's Services Scott Varner told ABC 6 he couldn’t give specifics on child service’s involvement with Wilder starting in May 2022.
“The assessment of a child’s safety in their home is ongoing and accompanied by an in-depth evaluation of the child’s and family’s strengths and needs along with a determination of whether the family is in need of protective services,” he said.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Mike Thompson, who also set the bonds, told Lowe to have no contact with Wilder and, if released, to have no unsupervised contact with minors, which includes her own two children. Wilder’s bond conditions dictate similar conditions.
Details of the autopsy report on Martonio were released in September 2024, and released by ABC News. The report, from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, reveals that the pathologist determined that Martonio Wilder died from asphyxia by neck compression, severe malnutrition, dehydration, and blunt trauma to the head. Martonio weighed only 35 pounds when his body arrived at the office, “clad in camouflage pants,” and “in a dark garbage bag in a multicolored laundry bag.”
The report notes several external injuries on Martonio’s body, including several abrasions on the left side of his and face, hemorrhage on the bridge of his nose and below the right eye, on on the right side of his head, and several other areas of hemorrhaging.
His eyes were sunken, and there was “a severe loss of muscle mass with protrusion of bones, just under the skin.” The report says that his pelvic, collarbone, knee caps, and rib bones were visible beneath his skin.
The manner of death in the report is listed as homicide.
Regrets overtake family who saw red flags
Family members have since spoken out about how Wilder had support in her struggles, leaving them stranded with questions as to how it came to this.
“From the outside looking in, there’s a lot of questions about where his family was. We were there, but we couldn’t be there all the time,” said Seia Glover, Martonio’s cousin, as reported by the Dispatch.
Wilder’s aunt, Rachelle Knight, claimed that Family Services visited Lashanda’s home the day before Martonio’s remains were discovered. The young boy wasn’t home when they came knocking.
Knight tried to warn police about the danger Wilder posed to her son months before his death, according to a 10TV report.
Bodycam footage from Christmas 2023 shows officers from the Columbus Division of Police responding to domestic dispute call involving LaShanda Wilder, who reported that her aunt, Rachelle Knight, had threatened her with a knife and a gun. 10TV notes that Wilder’s claims couldn’t be backed up by evidence, as no weapons were found in Knight’s home nor did witnesses claim to see any.
Knight told police the argument with her niece began because Wilder didn’t get her two kids any Christmas gifts, 10TV says. In addition, the video shows Knight expressing her concerns for the kids’ safety.
“I’m not trying to keep her kids, but if you all feel that she is OK to go home, I am gonna tell you now, if she go home those babies is going to suffer, they going to suffer,” Knight stated. “I love my niece but she is a horrible parent. Just go to her home, go look at her house. She doesn’t even have freaking windows I mean no windows, the house is not even support. That is why I was trying to help, you cannot treat them babies that way.”
She didn’t hold back on how serious she believed the situation to be in the video.
“They are gonna go home and be tortured because of this incident,” she added, offering to take the kids with her for the night. But police told her that because Wilder had custody, they couldn’t just take the kids away.
The video, posted by 10TV, also shows officers talking to Wilder in the backyard, where she is shouting about the situation.
“She’s mad because I didn’t give my kids no Christmas, and I don’t have to. They don’t deserve it,” Wilder yells before accusing Knight of attacking her.
“She tried to stab me in front of the kids,” Wilder complains.
After the incident, Wilder left with the kids.
A spokesman for the Franklin County Family Services couldn’t confirm the visit but admitted they had been involved with Wilder and her family for about two years, the Dispatch says. Scott Varner noted that FCFS provided services including case management, referral assistance, and behavioral heath support.
Glover said that the family’s concerns didn’t lead them to believe the alleged red flags could lead to Martonio’s death.
“Some of the minor things that were red flags but didn’t really seem like they would lead to something like this of this magnitude, it caught us all off guard. She had support. There’s no excuse for this boy to be dead. There’s no reason for him to be stuffed up in the attic like he didn't matter,” Glover stated.
One such red flag incident Glover described occurred on Mother’s Day, the Dispatch says. Upon bringing Wilder home, Glover said that Martonio had jumped from a window. She further speculated on on whether the young boy was trying to flee from something.
ABC 6 obtained court records that further detail the FCFS case which was opened in May 2022 to investigate “dependency concerns” in relation to Wilder. At the time the case was initiated, Wilder lived at a shelter with three kids, including Martonio, in her custody. The report has since been redacted, but WSYX outlined more information gained from the documents.
Martonio, according to these documents, struggled with behavioral concerns that he could be “violent and destructive.” Furthermore, concerns were raised that Martonio was mimicking his mother’s allegedly explosive episodes.
“It was reported that mother had become volatile at times. She had been observed to yell and cuss at the older children, and it was reported that she was observed berating Martonio,” the report said, according to WSYX. It continued:
“It was reported that mother had verbalized that she was ‘done with Martonio,’ and that she wanted to give up custody.”
The reports note several referrals in this case dating back to 2016, including concerns of physical abuse, drug positive birth, and neglect and emotional maltreatment. Due to accusations being unfounded or lacking evidence, two referrals were deemed unsubstantiated.
Police responded to the Hannah Neil Children’s Center, where Martionio attended, in May 2022, WSYX states. According to reports, Martonio fought and exhibited aggressive behavior towards his mother despite being only 5-years old. He was subsequently diagnosed with opposition defiance disorder, had homicidal and suicidal ideations, and wanted to stab other children.
WSYX also notes that family members admitted they called the FCFS caseworker the day before police descended on the Olmstead Ave home.
Knight and Glover cried in court as the prosecutor continued to describe what they believe happened to Martonio, according to 10TV.
“She hid this from us, she hid this from us. There was a lot of stuff we did not know,” Knight said.
Knight added that seeing Wilder on video in the courtroom gave her the eerie sense that Lashanda didn’t care about what she is accused of doing and what she is charged with.
“I know my niece, I read her whole body language. She don’t care,” Knight said.
She described Martonio as a boy who frequently said “I love you.”
“That baby, he didn’t even know why the person he wanted to love him the most didn’t love him. She did not love him and we all don’t even know why. He’s the sweetest. He would say, ‘Good morning, I love you. Good morning,” Knight explained. “Now I know why he said I love you so much. Because his time was short, but he made sure we knew that he loved us.”
Knight added that despite trying to provide for Martonio and his siblings, Wilder attempted to isolate the children from the family, WBNS says.
“They used to get dropped off at my house when they got out of school, the bus would drop them off at my house. I would feed them, I would buy them clothes and stuff, I'm like, I'm not sending them to school like that,” she explained.
She explained that Martonio once told her that his mother locked him in a closet and gave him only a box of crackers to eat. Looking back, Knight expressed remorse.
“If I could have took him.... he’d still be alive,” she said.
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For more on filicides:
Fatal Maternity: What is filicide?
Mothers who kill their children are gawked upon by society as many female killers are; with a mix of awe, disgust, and indignation that anyone could harm a child, especially their own. Is she crazy? Cold-hearted? Spiteful? A monster? On drugs? Why did she do it?
Sources
The Columbus Dispatch
September 11, 2024
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2024/09/11/autopsy-report-martonio-wilder-shows-8-year-old-was-malnourished-columbus-ohio-johnna-lowe-lashanda/75171886007/
June 5, 2025
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2025/06/05/ohio-woman-admits-role-beating-starvation-death-8-year-old-boy-columbus-martonio-wilder-johnna-lowe/83997654007/
10TV
July 8, 2024
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/mother-girlfriend-accused-of-killing-martonio-wailder-plead-not-guilty/530-aff94129-1143-4bf2-9c96-d737a595a259
July 10, 2024
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/mother-girlfriend-accused-of-killing-martonio-wailder-plead-not-guilty/530-aff94129-1143-4bf2-9c96-d737a595a259
July 26, 2024
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/martonio-wilder-bodycam-video-six-months-before-death/530-20985185-a6f5-4ee3-bb7e-1ab8237af2fa
ABC 6 On Your Side
Sept. 10, 2024
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/8-year-old-found-dead-in-attic-weighed-only-35-pounds-autopsy-shows
July 9, 2024
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/third-woman-charged-in-martonio-wilder-murder-investigation-johnna-lowe-lashanda-wilder-columbus-police-homicide-mary-johnson