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'He Didn't Seem Concerned': Family Friend Charged In Months-Old Case Of Boy Found Dead On Farm
Matthew Little is accused of giving Jonathan Minard a fentanyl-based compound which resulted in his death before trying to hide the body.
Months after the body of a 14-year-old missing boy was found in a shallow grave on an Ohio farm, there’s been an arrest and a suspect named in his death.
Jonathan Minard was last seen in April after he had gone to a dairy farm along with a 29-year old-friend, whose father owns the dairy farm. His body was found days later on a farm.
Now, that much-older friend is accused of killing him. Matthew Little, now 30, was arrested Tuesday, September 3, and indicted on 15 criminal charges in the teen’s death, according to the Ohio Times Reporter. He was arrested at the same farm where the body was found.
Little is accused of giving Minard a fentanyl-related drug which resulted in the boy’s death. An autopsy and toxicology test showed the boy died from acute fentanyl intoxication, local outlet WTRF reports.
The man has been charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter, permitting drug abuse and endangering children, heroin possession, reckless homicide, evidence tampering, and gross abuse of a corpse among other charges. Specifics about the charges have not been divulged.
“There was some things about this case that were evident from the beginning and some things in this case that were not evident,” Carroll County Sheriff Dale R. Williams said in a press conference held on Wednesday.
Minard and Little were family friends, Carroll County Prosecutor Steve Barnett noted.
“Jonathan has spent time working with Mr. Little on the family farm,” Barnett said at the press conference.
A bond hearing is scheduled for Little for Thursday afternoon. It’s not yet clear if he has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.
As for his reaction when he was arrested, according to Williams, "[Little] didn’t seem concerned.”
Shana Teeters, who knew Minard, described him shortly after his body was found as a fun-loving kid.
“He was always walking around Delroy, just out in the summertime and stuff,” she told local station WOIO. “Just like an everyday kid would be.”
