Woman Charged With Abusing Her Child, His Corpse, On Trial For Murder

Elisha Pankey, mother of a 7-year-old who was found dead Dec. 23, was scheduled to stand trial Friday for his murder. She was already charged with abusing the child while he was alive and abusing his corpse after he died.

The body of 7-year-old Caden McWilliams was found at a storage unit in Denver, Colorado, by the Denver Police Department two days before Christmas. His mother was taken into custody after she turned herself in to the Denver police Jan. 2.

One day before the child's body was found, Pankey was arrested in Aurora, Illinois, for suspected possession of heroin after police came into contact with her while investigating an anonymous tip-off about a missing child. The Aurora police then contacted their colleagues in Denver, who found McWilliams' body in the storage locker.

On Dec. 24, Pankey posted a $1000 personal recognizance bond and was released from jail. However, she was formally charged Dec. 28 with a felony drug possession count and a drug paraphernalia count.

Denver Police suspected the body they found in the storage unit was McWiliams’ and that Pankey was the mother of the deceased boy. They were looking into the possibility that he may have been killed as long ago as May, which was when he went missing.

The child's body was “treated the body or remains of a person in a way that would outrage normal family sensibilities,” according to the abuse of corpse charge against Pankey. The Denver medical examiner issued a statement that the autopsy had been performed but the cause of death was still under investigation.

According to court reports, McWilliams also had a sibling who was placed in protective custody after Pankey was arrested, and she was prohibited from being in contact with the child.

According to the Denver court records, the arrest warrant affidavit in the child abuse case against Pankey was sealed. On Thursday, during her trial, her attorney waived the reading of the charges she was being held on and the judge set her bond at $250,000.