CLEVELAND — A Cleveland Municipal Court judge set a $2 million bond for the 28-year-old woman arrested in connection with two young girls found dead in suitcases earlier this week.
Aliyah Henderson was charged with two counts of aggravated murder on Thursday, according to the Cleveland Division of Police.
The girls were identified as 8-year-old Mila Chatman and 10-year-old Amor Wilson, both of Cleveland.
Judge Jeffrey D. Johnson set the bond at $1 million per count.
Watch the arraignment:
Henderson entered the courtroom quietly, surrounded by six police officers. She stood at the podium but did not speak during the hearing and did not enter a plea.
During the hearing, the prosecutor described the allegations, stating that the defendant caused the deaths of her two daughters and that their decomposed bodies were later discovered in shallow graves.
The prosecutor also noted that Henderson has no prior criminal record.
Henderson did not enter a plea during the arraignment.
A large police contingent was present for the arraignment.
According to Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer, Henderson is the mother of both children. The photo below was taken seven years ago when the paper did a story about ongoing health care coverage in Cleveland.
Dashay Crider, a neighbor of Henderson, said she had moved into the duplex on East 162nd Street at the same time Henderson did.
Crider said she called Cuyahoga County’s Division of Child and Family Services after she became concerned about erratic behavior by Henderson.
News 5 asked the county about that, and press secretary Jennifer Ciaccia sent us this statement.
"We are profoundly saddened by the deaths of these two young girls which is a tragedy for their families and our entire community. Due to the active criminal investigation into these deaths as well as the confidentiality obligation of Ohio law, we are unable to disclose any further information at this time."
Earlier this week, a man walking his dog around East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue at Saranac Playground near Ginn Academy found a suitcase with human remains inside, which turned out to be the girls.
