KINGMAN, Ariz. — A fourth person is facing charges after the remains of a teen reported as a runaway by his parents were found near Kingman at the end of February. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the parents have admitted to dumping their 16-year-old son's body.
According to the sheriff's office, remains that had been wrapped in a blanket were discovered on Feb. 28, near Anson Smith and Indian Canyon roads.
Three days prior, on Feb. 25, Amber-Leah Valentine and Jon Imes, both 41, reported their 16-year-old son as a runaway the sheriff's office said.
After the discovery of the remains, Valentine and Imes, along with their roommate, Richard Pounds, 34, were charged in the case.
Valentine and Imes were arrested on suspicion of concealing a dead body, while Pounds was accused of felony child abuse and aggravated assault.
On March 8, charges were brought against a fourth individual in the case.
Shioban Gujda, 39, was accused of Child Abuse and had an active arrest warrant put out for them. The sheriff's office said Gujda was a second roommate living with the parents.
The sheriff's office arrested the parents after deputies responded to another report concerning the couple's 14-year-old daughter on March 2.
That is when Valentine told the sheriff's office her daughter had apparently been held captive by Pounds. The sheriff's office said the mother and daughter were taken to an area hospital following Valentine's request for medical treatment for herself and her daughter.
According to the sheriff's office, "the female juvenile indicated that she had been shot in the eye with a BB gun by Richard Pounds and provided additional accounts of abuse in the house."
Additionally, the sheriff's office said Valentine confessed to disposing of her son's body at the location where the human remains were found on Feb. 28. She allegedly said the boy was already dead when the missing person's report was made.
When investigators spoke to Valentine about her son, "she admitted that she lied to deputies when they reported him as a runaway and acknowledged that he was already deceased at the time of the report."
The sheriff's office said during questioning Ames also "admitted to disposing of his son's body and lying to deputies about him running away."
The investigation is ongoing. An autopsy has been conducted and results are pending.
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