Burleson Parents Charged After Special-Needs Son Buried

During a welfare check on Oct. 14, Burleson police were told 26-year-old Jonathan (reported as both Kinman and Kinnan), a man with special needs who lived with his mother and stepfather, might be deceased and buried in the family’s backyard. On Oct. 15, Burleson officers, assisted by the Texas Rangers, executed a search warrant, uncovered a shallow grave, exhumed the remains and identified them as Jonathan. His mother, December Marie Mitchell, and stepfather, Jonathan James Mitchell, were arrested and charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse and are each being held on $250,000 bonds. The body was taken to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy; the cause and manner of death remain pending and the investigation is ongoing with additional charges possible.