Arizona Parents Face Charges After Admitting to Concealing Death of 16-Year-Old Son

LAS VEGAS – According to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, the parents of a 16-year-old boy from Kingman, Arizona initially reported him as a runaway to the police. However, they later confessed that they had wrapped their son’s body in a blanket and dumped it behind a stone wall. The cause of the boy’s death is unknown as an autopsy is still pending. The parents, Amber-Leah Valentine and Jon Imes, along with their roommate Richard Pounds, have been arrested and face charges. Another woman was also arrested but released pending further investigation.

On Feb. 25, Valentine and Imes reported their son missing. Deputies were told that the boy was last seen on Feb. 24. On Feb. 28, a body of a white male wrapped in a blanket was found behind a stone wall in the Anson Smith and Indian Canyon roads area. The identity of the male was not yet known at the time.

On Thursday, Valentine called the sheriff’s office to report that she had freed her 14-year-old daughter from the captivity of her roommates, Pounds and the woman. Valentine asked for medical attention for both her and her daughter. During questioning, Valentine and Imes admitted to disposing of their son’s body and lying to the deputies about him running away.

The 14-year-old daughter reported that Pounds had shot her in the eye with a BB gun and also provided additional accounts of abuse in the home. The Arizona Department of Child Safety is now involved, and the girl is receiving medical care at an undisclosed location.

Valentine and Imes have been charged with felony abandonment/concealment of a dead body, while Pounds faces charges of felony child abuse and aggravated assault. Additional charges are pending.

Credits: Review Journal