Cleaner Finds Missing Woman's Body Under Pile Of Clothes On Ohio Apartment Balcony

A cleaner has found the body of a woman who was reported missing in Ohio in July 2021. The corpse was wrapped in a blanket under a pile of clothes on the balcony of an apartment in the same state.

Cleveland police revealed that the body was of 19-year-old Audreona Barnes, who was allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend, 39-year-old Bennie Washington, according to cleveland.com.

Washington has been accused of leaving Barnes' body on the balcony of his apartment, which is located on Warner Road in the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood in Cleveland, for months before eventually moving away, police said. A cleaning staff member stumbled upon the body while moving a pile of clothes on March 17.

Police said the cleaner informed authorities after finding the corpse. Investigators suspect that it was left outside to speed up the decomposition process.

Washington, who was evicted from the apartment on March 11, allegedly shot Barnes in the head, as per court records. Cops spotted Washington on March 18 and chased him. He managed to escape at the time, but he was arrested the following day.

Charges of aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse were filed against him Monday.

The teenager was reported missing by her family members in Warrensville Heights in July 2021. Her mother, Akua Avegnon, said Barnes hoped to join the army and even met recruiters on the day she disappeared, 19 News reported.

Warrensville Heights Det. Gregory Curry also confirmed in October last year that Barnes met with recruiters before she went missing.

"I know that speaking with the recruiters they picked her up at the boyfriend's house in Cleveland," Curry said at the time, according to 19 News. "They then dropped her back off there. They just don't know if she went back into the apartment or if she walked away."

Avegnon also revealed that the last time her daughter's social media accounts were active was on the day she was last seen.

"The last time I talked to Audreona was the 30th of July. We actually had plans together. It was plans with the whole family," Avegnon told 19 News in October. "Later on that night, she sent a text message to my boyfriend asking for a ride that didn't seem like it came from her. And that was the last time anyone has heard or spoken to her. The last place that I know she was was at her boyfriend’s house on Warner Road in Cleveland."

After Barnes' body was discovered, an autopsy revealed that she was shot in the head.

In the weeks before the corpse was found, police received calls about Washington's "erratic behavior in public." Investigators also found bullet casings near the body. The inside wall of the apartment had a bullet hole as well, according to court records.

Washington was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting and wounding a woman over a $40 cocaine debt.