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Kingman couple arrested in connection with death of teenage son

Shallow depth of field image taken of yellow law enforcement line with police car and lights in the background.
carlballou/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Shallow depth of field image taken of yellow law enforcement line with police car and lights in the background.

A Kingman teenager has been found dead and his parents have been arrested for allegedly concealing the body in a blanket and lying to law enforcement, according to authorities.

Mohave County Sheriff’s officials say they are still awaiting the result of an autopsy for the 16-year-old boy's cause of death. They said Amber-Leah Valentine and Jon Imes, both 41, have been booked into the county jail on suspicion of felony abandonment and concealment of a dead body. It was unclear Tuesday if either Valentine and/or Imes has a lawyer yet who can speak on their behalf about the case.

Sheriff’s officials said the couple allegedly told deputies on Feb. 25 that their son had run away from home. Three days later, deputies were called about a body found wrapped in a blanket behind a stone wall. It was later determined that it was the body of the missing teen.

According to investigators, Valentine told deputies she and Imes had disposed of their son’s body and both of them said they knew the teen was dead when they reported him missing.