Search for missing boy ends; believed killed

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Detectives have another
suspect and said they believe the boy is dead.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — James P. Hig-
ham's body hasn't been found, but the search for the 16-year-old boy reported missing 51/2 years ago is over.

Jennifer L. Snyder, 34, of Pyatt Street faces felony charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, child endangering and permitting child abuse. She was booked Tuesday into the Mahoning County jail.

City Prosecutor Jay Macejko said Snyder faces up to 23 years in prison if convicted. Snyder has a minor criminal record, nothing violent, police said.

At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said evidence indicates the boy was killed and his body disposed of in 2002. Snyder reported the boy missing Jan. 3, 2002. He had marked his 16th birthday a month earlier.

Hughes said the boy's parents split, with the mother returning to her native Japan and the father staying in Youngstown. The father then gave custody to Snyder, an aunt through marriage.

Cracking a cold case

Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said he's not prepared — yet — to call what happened a murder. He said detectives have another suspect and a person of interest.

Centorame credited the investigative work of Lt. Mark Milstead and sheriff's detectives Dave Benigas and Patrick Mondora, along with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. The sheriff's department first investigated the case, which came to them from Mahoning County Children Services Board. Investigators would not say why the boy's well-being had been referred to CSB in the years before he was reported missing.

Without the help of all the assorted agencies, the cold case would not have progressed this far, Centorame said.

Centorame said attempts to contact Higham's father to let him know about Snyder's arrest were unsuccessful.

The boy, Centorame said with sadness in his voice, "was never able to tell what happened to him — what ... [was] done to him."

A difficult case

Hughes said it was a most difficult case with a lot of twists and turns. He said the boy is still considered missing, "but we believe he's dead."

The chief said detectives have a clear picture of what happened but added that he couldn't provide more details at this time.

The chief said Snyder "has been helpful — and not helpful." He said that, in recent months, information came in that helped break the cold case.

The Ohio Attorney General Web site has carried a photo of Higham with his age progressed. The site lists him as an "endangered runaway."

Over the years, The Vindicator has published short stories about the missing boy, asking anyone with information to call police.

In December 2006, the newspaper again noted that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Va., was urging the public to call (800) THE-LOST concerning his disappearance or whereabouts. The age-advanced photo of the biracial boy (Asian/white) accompanied the request for help.

meade@vindy.com

Wednesday, August 1, 2007