Children abandoned in Mt. Pleasant leads to homicide arrest

An investigation by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police into the parents of two children abandoned at a local hospital ended with a suspect in custody related to a homicide.

In what is currently a multijurisdictional investigation, Mt. Pleasant Police officers were called early Saturday, November 5th to report of a 15 to 18-month-old boy and a four to six-month-old girl apparently left unaccompanied at the hospital. Investigators say that led to the home within the boundaries of the Isabella Indian Reservation where they found the body of 33-year-old Rosanna Romero. According to police, she had been shot to death. The investigation brought police to a suspect, Johnathan Ashford, who was then taken into custody in Saginaw.  It is still unclear what the relationship of the two children is to either Romero or Ashford.

Ashford is being held pending charges related to the homicide.