Burleson couple charged after adult special needs son found buried in backyard

BURLESON, Texas - An investigation is underway after police found the body of a Burleson couple’s 26-year-old special needs son buried in their backyard.

Body of special needs man found buried in backyard

What we know:

Police conducted a welfare check on 26-year-old Jonathan Kinman at his parents’ home in the 400 block of White Oak Lane in Burleson on Oct. 14. The deputy chief says a friend saw a confusing Facebook post from the mother and stepfather, mourning the death of Johnathan Kinman.

That friend then called 911, unraveling this entire investigation.

Kinman, who had special needs, lived with his mom, December Mitchell, and stepfather, Jonathan Mitchell.

Investigators became suspicious after the pair acknowledged that Kinman had died but would only give vague information about what happened.

"The first information was she said he was taken to Hugeley Hospital and pronounced there. We followed up with that and that was not correct," said Burleson Police Deputy Chief Doug Sandifer. "The conflicting information definitely led us to believe that something was not as it should be."

Burleson police returned with the Texas Rangers the following morning to search in the backyard. They found Kinman’s body buried in a shallow grave. 

His parents were arrested and charged with tampering with and fabricating physical evidence to impair a human corpse, which is a second-degree felony. They are currently being held on a $250,000 bond each.

They could face additional charges pending an autopsy report and the outcome of the investigation. 

What they're saying:

Kinman's other family members shared a statement with FOX 4.

"We were horrified to hear the news about our precious Jonathan. This is a living nightmare for the Kinman family. Please know that we are in full cooperation with law enforcement and we will fight for every last ounce of truth and justice to come to light for the sake of our sweet boy," the family said.

Burleson police said at no point during the investigation did they believe there was any threat to the community. That is why details of the case were not made public earlier.

Local perspective:

Some neighbors are still trying to make sense of it all.

Judy Harris and her husband watched as one police car after another arrived, then the medical examiner's car parked out front. But they'd never seen Kinman and didn't know that he was living there.

"If it were natural causes, then they had nothing to fear. They should’ve called the police, rather than taking him into the backyard and burying him," Harris said. "Never saw him. That's the thing. No one in the neighborhood ever saw him."

"The detectives asked me about him or if I'd ever laid eyes on him and I didn't even know who they were talking about," said neighbor, Eric Tovar. "They could seem like great people, but people got things going on that you don’t know of."

What we don't know:

Police said they are still trying to determine how and when Kinman died.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet ruled on his cause of death.