CLEVELAND (WJW) – A man faces charges in connection with the death of a missing teen whose body was found under a pile of clothes on an apartment balcony in Cleveland.
Bennie Washington, 39, faces a charge of aggravated murder and abuse of a corpse.
The body of Audreona Barnes, 19, was found on March 17.
She had been missing from Warrensville Heights since July.
A person who had been hired to clean an apartment in the 4300 block of Warner Rd. called police when they found a body on the balcony under a pile of clothes.
The medical examiner identified the victim as Barnes.
The cleaning person told police that the apartment’s previous tenant was evicted on March 11.
Members of the Cleveland Division of Police homicide unit responded to the scene.
The medical examiner has not determined Barnes’ cause of death.
Police have not said how investigators connected Washington to the case.
He was arraigned on the charges Tuesday morning in Cleveland Municipal court.
A judge ordered him held on a $2 million bond.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April.
Friends, family and activists held a rally for Audreona Tuesday afternoon.
According to a press release from the group Black on Black Crime, Inc., Audreona had visited a recruiting office on the day of her disappearance.
The recruiter dropped her off at the apartment building where her body was found.
“Where was y’all at when I asked for help?” Audreona’s mother cried at the rally.
People at the rally accuse the police of not taking enough action to find Audreona when she was missing.
