Officials mum about investigation into death of 3-year-old as they await autopsy results

Published 2:56 pm Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Authorities are currently waiting on the autopsy results for Kaden Mallett, the 3-year-old found dead in a pond in Warren County on April 21, Sheriff Martin Pace said Wednesday.

Mallett’s mother, Brooke Mallett, 25, and her boyfriend John Duke Walker, 22, were each charged with first-degree murder and child neglect in the child’s death on the day the body was found.

Earlier that morning, the sheriff’s office began a search for the three-year-old, who had been reportedly last seen near Stenson Road and Old Highway 27 around 9 to 10 a.m.

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When asked if drugs were a factor in the child’s death, Pace said that the sheriff’s office did not have more details to release at this time, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.