New details are emerging about the tragic life of an Oklahoma toddler girl who went missing after her mother allegedly sold her to a drug dealer named “Carlos” in exchange for meth.
Ashley Rowland, 39, was previously charged with child abandonment in connection with the disappearance of her then-2-year-old daughter, London Kerr, in 2022. As police searched for London, they allegedly discovered horrific details about her life before she disappeared. As a result, Rowland and her 40-year-old boyfriend, Joshua Denton, are in jail on additional charges.
Rowland is charged with two counts of enabling child abuse through injury and engaging in a pattern of criminal activity. According to jail records, Denton is charged with six counts of child abuse and one count of forcible sodomy, lewd or indecent proposals or acts on a child, and engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses. In addition to Rowland’s daughter, Denton has been accused of abusing his own children.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, investigators interviewed Denton’s children, who made disturbing allegations. His 15-year-old son claimed that Denton hit London with a wooden paddle and shot her with a BB gun, leaving marks and bruises. Authorities said they found a BB gun and a paddle with the words “The Last Resort” written on it in Denton and Rowland’s storage unit.
The teenager also claimed that his father abused him and his older brother. He claimed that his father duct-taped him to a chair and whipped him with a belt, according to the complaint. According to the boy, Denton threatened to kill him and “make him disappear” if he told police, while Rowland witnessed the abuse but did nothing.
Denton’s son stated that the last time he saw London, she was in a car with Denton and Rowland. Rowland allegedly told the boy to “say goodbye to London” before driving away. He never saw her again. Rowland stated that they were taking her to London’s father’s house. The affidavit did not include a date.
According to the affidavit, Denton’s younger children told police that their father poured hot sauce on London’s eyes “more than once” and locked her in a closet. He also allegedly forced her to bite down on a hot pepper. Denton’s 8-year-old daughter accused him of sexual abuse.
After her arrest in November, investigators interviewed Rowland. She claimed that the aforementioned “Carlos” was London’s biological father. She stated that in mid-April 2022, she met Carlos in a parking lot and handed over London to him without her identification papers. Rowland claimed Carlos was from Mexico and had no way to contact him, according to cops.
However, authorities questioned her timeline for when London would have been conceived, and Rowland admitted she was in Georgia at the time with her then-boyfriend, whom police now believe is the girl’s biological father, according to the affidavit. Cops couldn’t find anyone named Carlos with the birthdate she provided.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, in April 2023, agents from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services were tasked with taking custody of the toddler but were unable to locate her. Rowland was found at a residence in Moore, about ten miles south of Oklahoma City.
Authorities said they later discovered Rowland was lying about her daughter’s whereabouts and contacted the Moore Police Department.
Rowland allegedly claimed she hadn’t seen the child since giving her to Carlos, who was selling methamphetamine at the time, according to Tulsa CBS affiliate KOTV. Rowland later admitted she was lying about Carlos being a drug dealer.
Oklahoma DHS reportedly told KOCO that it could not comment on the specifics of the case, but that the overall situation was “heartbreaking and unimaginable.”
The search for London continues. If she is still alive, she will turn six years old next month. The Oklahoma City Police Department has taken over the investigation, as they believe she was last seen in their jurisdiction.
“We don’t have very credible information from those who took responsibility or had custody of this child. So, when we take over an investigation, we have to go back and review what has already been documented, so time is critical,” Sgt. Dillon Quirk told KOCO.
Rowland and Denton remain in Cleveland County Jail without bond.
