Mom held after toddler missing for 3 years 'beaten, shot with BB gun and handed over to meth dealer'

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A mother and her boyfriend have been arrested on several child and sexual abuse counts - more than three years after her two-year-old girl was allegedly beaten and handed over to a meth dealer.
London Kerr was last seen in April 2022 at an Oklahoma City home, having reportedly been bashed with a paddle and shot with a BB gun before being given up.
The mother, Ashley Rowland, 39, and her boyfriend, Joshua Denton, 40, were arrested on Tuesday - but detectives say London's whereabouts are still a mystery.
The toddler, who would now be five, is still considered missing and endangered and Oklahoma City Police are continuing their search.
And despite the arrests, police say there's been no credible information about London's whereabouts.
The harrowing case only began to unravel a year after London was last seen alive, when the Oklahoma Department of Human Services attempted to serve a pickup order in April 2023 and was unable to locate London, according to court records.
Rowland initially told authorities her daughter was staying with her biological father in Georgia - but that statement was later proven false.
In a follow-up interview, Rowland allegedly admitted to giving London to a man named 'Carlos,' whom she said had sold her methamphetamine in 2022.
'He was possibly London's father, but Ashley was not sure. Carlos had told Ashley he was going back to Mexico,' her arrest affidavit stated.
Rowland also told police she did not give Carlos any of London's personal identification documents, The Oklahoman reported.
Oklahoma City police have not yet confirmed Carlos's existence or involvement.
Rowland was first arrested on a child abandonment charge last October but was bonded out.
She later admitted to police she had lied and that Carlos did not sell or use meth.
'We don't have very credible information from the people that assumed responsibility or had custody of this child,' Oklahoma City Police Sgt Dillon Quirk told WFSB.
'So, when we take over an investigation, we have to go back and look at what has already been documented.'
Investigators eventually uncovered additional disturbing allegations of abuse in interviews with other children connected to Rowland and Denton.
According to affidavits, a 15-year-old boy told police Denton hit London with a wooden paddle and shot her with a BB gun.
He also said Denton duct-taped him to a chair, beat him with a belt, threatened to kill him if he spoke to anyone and even threatened to 'make him disappear.'
Residence: Ashley Rowland's southeast Oklahoma home where Department of Human Services believed London Kerr was living before her disappearance
In March, Denton's eight-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were also interviewed.
The two children alleged that their father poured hot sauce in London's eyes, locked her in a closet, and threatened to beat them if they told Rowland.
The girl also said Denton had sexually abused her and warned her she would die if she spoke out.
The two minors also told investigators Rowland was aware of the abuse. Rowland, however, denied knowledge of the abuse, and insisted Denton was never violent toward London.
Moore Police later searched a storage unit tied to Rowland and Denton, where they recovered a BB gun, a wooden paddle labeled 'The Last Resort,' a pink baby blanket, diapers, a pink shoe, and a car seat, the Oklahoman reported.
Complicating the timeline further, a daycare worker told police early this year that she last saw London with Rowland at a gas station over two years earlier.
At the time, the worker noted visible bruises on London's head, but according to the affidavit, Rowland said her toddler's injuries were from a car accident.
Despite extensive searches of properties, storage units, and electronic devices, no trace of London has been found.
Police said the case is now being led by Oklahoma City detectives, with assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Moore Police previously worked the case but turned it over after exhausting leads.
'Time is of the essence, still hoping for a positive turnout in this case, and we don't have a lot to go off of right now, which makes it extremely difficult,' Quirk told KOCO-TV.
If still alive, London would turn six in early September.
Denton now faces nine felony charges, including six counts of child abuse, one count of forcible sodomy, one count of lewd or indecent acts to a child, and one count of a pattern of criminal offenses.
Rowland has been charged with enabling child abuse.
Anyone with information about London's whereabouts is urged to contact the Oklahoma City Police Homicide Tip Line at 405-297-1200.