An indictment has been handed down by a Henry County Grand Jury against the parents of a youngster with autism who was supposed to be four years old but went missing earlier this year.
Both Shyanne Nicole Ray, who is 25 years old, and Joshua Thad Wilkerson, who is 39 years old, were indicted in Apirl on two counts of chemical endangerment of a child apiece.
Wilkerson and Ray were taken into custody at the beginning of February after it was reported by detectives from Henry County and the state that they had consumed methamphetamine and marijuana at their residence on January 12, the day that their son, Phenix Wilkerson, went missing.
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According to a complaint filed by the State Bureau of Investigation, Wilkerson, a youngster with autism who is non-verbal, was directly exposed to the medications and may have inhaled or eaten them.
Phenix was discovered in the woods two days after a fervent search was conducted throughout the rural areas of Barbour County. He was dressed in the same clothes he had been spotted in the previous day, although he was not wearing shoes. During the time that Phenix spent in the forest, the temperature plummeted to below freezing.
In response to the allegations, Ray entered a plea of not guilty nine days after they were indicted. Early on in April, Wilkerson entered a plea of not guilty according to WDHN News.