According to the court documents, the child’s mother and her 31-year-old girlfriend, are now charged with aggravated murder for killing the 9-year-old girl last year. Both suspects were arrested Tuesday in Michigan following a traffic stop. The victim was never enrolled in school and had never been reported missing by the two women. Both suspects were homeless and spent most of the last five years roaming around and panhandling.
According to reports, authorities in Oregon identified the 9-year-old girl, Haley Mae Coblentz, whose remains were stuffed in a bag and discarded in a riverbank next to a highway rest area. The 28-year-old mother, Shawna Browning, and her girlfriend. Lauren Harrison, are now charged with aggravated murder.
On Dec. 10, 2020, investigators responded to a report about a child’s remains being discovered by a man who had been walking in the area. The responding officers discovered that the child’s body was stuffed inside a duffle bag and hidden in the forest. Investigators said the child had been dead for 30-60 days prior to being found.
During the investigation, authorities identified the victim as Coblentz, who was just 9 years old at the time of her death. They also said that the victim was born in Colorado but had been living in Oregon and various other places in the Pacific Northwest with her mother and her mother’s partner.
Investigators also said that “the 9-year-old girl was never enrolled in school and had never been reported missing by the two women.” Authorities located both suspects at a motel with the help of the FBI and took them into custody without incident.
Browning and Harrison were homeless, and spent most of the last five years roaming around and panhandling. Browning has been estranged from her family for many years due to having suffered through a traumatic childhood, a relative said.
Another relative said the that the family doesn’t know who Coblentz’s father is and said the child’s last name was taken from Browning’s girlfriend at the time.
Both suspects are being held without bond and both are facing a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. This incident remains under investigation. This is a developing story and it will be updated as new information become available.