1st charge announced in murder of Deontae Mitchell

DETROIT (WJBK) - Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Saturday the first charges against those allegedly responsible for the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Deontae Mitchell.

Worthy charged Earnest Coleman, 26, of Detroit with kidnapping Mitchell. According to Detroit Police, it is alleged that on May 31, 2016 at approximately 11:15 p.m. Coleman kidnapped Mitchell with others at a party store in the 15900 block of East Warren. 

Mitchell's body was found Thursday morning in a field near Harper and Van Dyke. The Wayne County Medical Examiner has not released a cause of death but did say that there were no gunshot wounds to Mitchell's body.

Coleman will be arraigned on Sunday at the 34th District Court in Romulus.

Worthy released a statement Saturday along with the charge.

"The alleged facts in this case explicitly show that the lives of some of Detroit's children continue to be less important than everything else‎ - in this case a few dollars dropped from a pocket. May we all reexamine the worth of our children and we in the criminal justice system will handle the senseless murder of Deontae."

Coleman is one of four suspects who face possible charges in the incident.

Meanwhile, loved ones gathered on the city's east side Saturday afternoon in hopes of raising money to bury Deontae. They gathered at Derby Hills Park for a barbecue fundraiser.

"We got a long way to go, a long way to go," Deontae's mother, Crystal Mitchell, tells FOX 2. "But with the help of the Lord, we'll get there."