Inset: London Kerr (Oklahoma City Police Department). Right: Ashley Rowland. Left Joshua Denton (Cleveland County Jail).
New allegations are emerging about the tragic life of an Oklahoma toddler girl before she went missing after her mother allegedly sold her to a drug dealer named “Carlos” in exchange for meth.
Ashley Rowland, 39, had previously been charged with child abandonment for the 2022 disappearance of her then 2-year-old daughter, London Kerr. As police searched for London, they allegedly uncovered horrific details about her life before she went missing. As a result, Rowland and her 40-year-old boyfriend, Joshua Denton, are behind bars on additional charges.
Rowland stands accused of two counts of enabling child abuse by injury and engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses. Denton faces six counts of child abuse and one count each of forcible sodomy, lewd or indecent proposals or acts to a child and engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses, according to jail records. In addition to Rowland”s daughter, Denton is also accused of abusing his own children.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, investigators spoke with Denton’s kids, who detailed disturbing allegations. His 15-year-old son alleged that Denton hit London with a wooden paddle and shot her with a BB gun, causing marks and bruises. Authorities said they recovered a BB gun and a paddle that had “The Last Resort” written on it at a storage unit that belonged to Denton and Rowland.
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The teen also alleged his father abused him and his older brother. He said his father duct-taped him to a chair and whipped him with a belt, the complaint said. Denton allegedly threatened to kill him and “make him disappear” if he told police, while Rowland witnessed the abuse and did nothing, the boy alleged.
Denton’s son said the last time he saw London, she was with Denton and Rowland in a car. Rowland allegedly told the boy to “say goodbye to London” before they drove off. He never saw her again. Rowland claimed they were taking her to London’s father’s house. The affidavit did not include a date.
Denton’s younger children told cops their father poured hot sauce on London’s eyes “more than one time” and would lock her in a closet, the affidavit said. He also allegedly made her bite down on a hot pepper. His daughter, age 8, accused Denton of sexually abusing her.
Investigators interviewed Rowland following her arrest in November. She claimed the aforementioned “Carlos” was London’s biological father. She said that in mid-April 2022, she met up with Carlos in a parking lot and handed London over to him without any of her identification papers. Rowland claimed Carlos was from Mexico and had no way of contacting him, according to cops.
But authorities questioned her timeline of when London would have been conceived and Rowland admitted she was in Georgia at the time and with her then-boyfriend, whom cops now believe is the girl’s biological father, the affidavit said. Cops could not locate anyone named Carlos with the birthdate she gave.
As Law&Crime previously reported, agents with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in April 2023 were tasked with taking custody of the toddler but were unable to locate her. The agents located Rowland at a residence in Moore, about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City.
However, authorities said they were later able to determine that Rowland was lying about the whereabouts of her daughter and contacted the Moore Police Department.
Rowland allegedly said that she had not seen the child since giving her to Carlos, who was selling her methamphetamine at the time, Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV reported. But Rowland later said she was lying about Carlos being a drug dealer.
Oklahoma DHS reportedly told KOCO that the department cannot comment on the specifics of the case, but said the entire situation was “heartbreaking and unimaginable.”
The search for London continues. If she is alive, she will turn 6 years old next month. The Oklahoma City Police Department has taken over the investigation as cops believe she was last seen in their jurisdiction.
“We don’t have very credible information from the people that assumed responsibility or had custody of this child. So, when we take over an investigation, we have to go back and look at what has already been documented, so time is of the essence,” Sgt. Dillon Quirk told KOCO.
Rowland and Denton remain in the Cleveland County Jail without bond.
Anyone with information is urged to contact either the Oklahoma City Police Department Homicide Tip Line at 405-297-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300.
