‘TRAGIC’

Oklahoma Couple Arrested After Burned Body of Toddler Found in Vacant Lot, Police Say

Police received a tip about the child's remains in a vacant lot, which led them to arrest the pair.

An Oklahoma couple has been charged with murder after a toddler’s burned remains were found in a vacant lot, according to a Wednesday press release from Seminole police. Police received a tip late Tuesday about the child’s remains, which eventually led them to arrest Chad Jennings and his girlfriend Katherine Penner. Jennings faces charges of first degree murder, conspiracy, and child abuse by injury, while Penner faces charges of accessory to murder, child abuse by injury, and desecration of a human corpse. “Any homicide is obviously tragic. But when a child is murdered, it’s just really hard. It’s just tragic,” Brook Arbeitman, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, told local media. As of Thursday, authorities still hadn’t released details on the relationship between the couple and the child. “Until the child is identified positively by the Medical Examiner and next of kin notifications can be made to any family members, we can’t speculate on who the child is or the relationship between those that were arrested,” Arbeitman said.