INDIANAPOLIS — Officials confirmed they found the body of missing 1-year-old Oaklee Snow in a dresser drawer of an abandoned building in Morgan County.
Roan Waters, her mother's boyfriend, faces charges which include murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Her mother, 22-year-old Madison Marshall, already faced neglect charges in Indianapolis involving Oaklee's baby brother.
On Tuesday, those charges against Marshall were updated to include charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in death and assisting a criminal.
In January 2023, Oaklee’s biological father reported Oaklee and another child he has with Marshall were missing from his home in Cromwell, Oklahoma.
The father said Marshall and Waters took his children from his home and were allegedly heading to Indianapolis.
On March 3, 2023, police said Waters was located and arrested by the Greenwood Village Police Department in Colorado on an outstanding warrant. Police believe Marshall had been staying with Waters, but her and the children were not located with Waters at that time.
Investigators said they were able to track Marshall to North Carolina, where she was eventually located, arrested and extradited to Marion County.
During interviews with investigators, Marshall allegedly said that Waters killed Oaklee and that they moved her body to Morgan County, Indiana, in February.
Snow's body was ultimately found in a dresser drawer of an abandoned structure.
"As parents, we have a duty to protect our children. Not only did these two individuals fail to live up to that responsibility, but the allegations in the probable cause affidavit indicate that Oaklee suffered a horrific death and an abandonment that diminished the dignity that any child deserves," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a news release. "I want to thank the multiple law enforcement agencies and our prosecutors who worked tirelessly to locate this child and seek justice on her behalf."
Marshall made her initial court appearance Monday afternoon on two charges of neglect involving abandonment. Court records say she left her 7-month-old son at a house on Albany Street on the south side of Indianapolis. Marshall had given no explanation for what happened to Oaklee.
Waters was already facing charges of child abuse, domestic assault and battery in the presence of a minor for allegedly hitting Oaklee in the face last November, causing her to have trauma to her mouth and lips.
Waters' mother said the couple stayed at the house on the south side of Indianapolis from late January into February. Waters told police it was a "trap house" where he and Marshall used drugs.
They allegedly abandoned the baby boy at the house. Waters’ family took care of the baby boy, who was returned to his father in Oklahoma.
But no one had seen Oaklee since late January. A neighbor told police he saw a couple carry out of the house what appeared to be a child wrapped up in a blanket, and that the child did not appear to be moving, talking or crying.
Waters told his family that Oaklee had fallen in an accident, and they had to take her to the hospital emergency room.
Police said Oaklee had not been located despite multiple interviews and
searches. The last line of the court document reads, "It is believed that she is deceased and disposed of."
On April 26, police announced the updated charges and that Oaklee's body was found in that abandoned Morgan County home.
Marshall is in the Marion County Jail. Her bail is set at $2,000 cash. She was appointed a public defender Monday. She has a no contact order with Waters’ mother and sister, the two people who took care of Marshall’s abandoned baby boy.
Marshall’s next court appearance is April 27. A motion has already been filed to increase her bond as the prosecution feels she could be a flight risk.