Madison Marshall, mother of missing 2-year-old Oaklee Snow, has first court appearance

Johnny Magdaleno, Indianapolis Star
·3 min read
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The mother of Oaklee Snow, a missing 2-year-old child last seen in Indianapolis who police fear may be dead, had her first court hearing Monday in Marion Superior Court.

Madison Marshall, who is in custody, appeared in initial hearing court on two level six felony charges of neglect of a dependent. Her boyfriend, Roan Waters, told law enforcement the pair had decided to abandon one of Marshall's children, a 7-month-old boy named Coleton, at an Indianapolis "trap house" where they were using drugs, according to a police affidavit.

Waters' sister, Keona Waters, told an FBI special agent and an Indianapolis police detective that, when she saw Oaklee with Marshall at a residence in Indianapolis in January, Oaklee allegedly had signs of bruising along her legs.

A prayer vigil and informational table were set up for 2-year-old Oaklee Snow on Monday, April 17, 2023, outside of City Market in Indianapolis. In January, Snow was taken from her father's home in Oklahoma without his consent by her mother, Madison Marshall. Snow was last seen by a witness in Indianapolis in February, but remains missing.
A prayer vigil and informational table were set up for 2-year-old Oaklee Snow on Monday, April 17, 2023, outside of City Market in Indianapolis. In January, Snow was taken from her father's home in Oklahoma without his consent by her mother, Madison Marshall. Snow was last seen by a witness in Indianapolis in February, but remains missing.

The two children were first reported missing in January. Coleton has since been found, but Oaklee is still missing, the police affidavit states.

"It is believed," IMPD detective Nicholas Hubbs wrote in the March affidavit, "that she is deceased and disposed of."

Remains found: IMPD investigating child's remains found in Morgan County. Is it missing baby Oaklee Snow?

Marshall held on $2,000 bond; prosecutors to push for more

In court on Monday, Marshall told Magistrate Judge Kevin Snyder she'd been unemployed since November and had no assets to her name. She's being held on $2,000 bond, though prosecutors want to see a higher amount set.

"The court ultimately determines the bond and the office will be pursuing a higher bond," a spokesperson for the Marion County Prosecutor's Office told IndyStar.

Level six felonies in Marion County follow a bond schedule that can range from $250 for lower level crimes to $2,000 for more severe crimes, like domestic violence charges. Prosecutors, however, have discretion to push for greater than standard bond.

A prayer vigil was held at an informational table for 2-year-old Oaklee Snow on Monday, April 17, 2023, outside of City Marker in Indianapolis. In January, Snow was taken from her father's home in Oklahoma without his consent by her mother, Madison Marshall. Snow was last seen by a witness in Indianapolis in February, but remains missing.
A prayer vigil was held at an informational table for 2-year-old Oaklee Snow on Monday, April 17, 2023, outside of City Marker in Indianapolis. In January, Snow was taken from her father's home in Oklahoma without his consent by her mother, Madison Marshall. Snow was last seen by a witness in Indianapolis in February, but remains missing.

The hearing came just days after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Friday that the remains of a child had been discovered in Morgan County, about 27 miles south of Indianapolis. IMPD is the lead investigating agency on that case.

DNA testing will determine the identity of the child, though that may take between two to four weeks to complete, according to the Morgan County Coroner's Office.

Where is Oaklee Snow? Toddler last seen in Indianapolis missing after mother's arrest

Missing children first reported by biological father

Marshall and Waters were on law enforcement's radar after the biological father of Marshall's two children told a sheriff's office in Oklahoma back in January that the two had fled the state with both kids - and without authorization. He said they "likely fled to Indiana to be with her boyfriend's family," according to the affidavit.

Waters was arrested early last month in Colorado on a warrant out of Oklahoma for child abuse and domestic assault and battery in the presence of a minor.

Marshall was arrested in North Carolina because of an anonymous tip on March 23, according to a local news outlet. On April 20, she was booked in the Marion County Adult Detention Center.

'Find Oaklee': Community members hold vigil for toddler last seen in Indianapolis

Oaklee was believed to be in 'extreme danger'

The probable cause affidavit in Marshall's case states that, according to jail call recordings reviewed by law enforcement while Waters was in custody in Colorado, Waters allegedly told his mother in Indianapolis he was present when Marshall's two children were abandoned. He said Coleton was eventually recovered from the "trap house" by Keona Waters and turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Coleton has since been reunited with his father, the affidavit states.

The affidavit also says Keona Waters informed authorities that Marshall and Roan Waters told her that the pair "had voluntarily chosen to give up" Snow in Indianapolis.

"Keona Waters believed that they had likely harmed (Oaklee Snow) and that she was in extreme danger," Hubbs wrote in the affidavit.

Marshall's next court hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Madison Marshall, mother of Oaklee Snow, has first court appearance

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