Mom Arrested After Her 7-Year-Old Son's Body Is Discovered In Colorado Storage Unit

Police believe the child may have been killed as long ago as last May.

January 04, 2019

Elisha Pankey [Denver Police Department]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

DENVER, CO — A Colorado mother is under arrest after her seven-year-old son’s body was found in a self-storage unit two days before Christmas.

Elisha Pankey, 43, surrendered to cops 10 days after the grisly discovery and is being held for investigation of child abuse resulting in the death of Caden McWilliams, who detectives estimate may have died as far back as last May.

The search for McWilliams began after law enforcement in Aurora, a Denver suburb, received a missing-persons report and contacted their counterparts in the capital. The Denver Police Department, acting on a tip, searched the storage unit on December 23 and found the boy deceased.

The medical examiner has performed an autopsy, but a cause or manner of death have not been made public.

“When I saw the news, I balled my fist, and I cried, ‘Oh, my God, how can you do this? How dare you hurt that little boy?’” Tina Wright, Pankey’s former landlord, told CBS4. “He was so beautiful. So, innocent.” Wright also said McWilliams was a “sweet” and “quiet” child and enjoyed playing outside with his toys.

Those who knew him at Denver's Ellis Elementary School echoed Wright's observations. “He stood out from others from the moment he walked through the school doors every morning with a huge smile on his face. His smile and eyes showed how kind and sweet he was at the core,” school officials noted, in part, in a statement. “During recess, Caden would always notice friends who needed someone to play with and he would go to them.”

The former landlord alleged Pankey and her husband battled financial and domestic-violence issues. “She changed from this outgoing person to this hermit who just wanted to stay in her house, and then they got evicted,” Wright said.

On December 22, the day before police found the deceased boy, the Aurora Police Department had arrested Pankey, who does not have an extensive criminal record, for possession of heroin. She was formally charged six days later with drug paraphernalia and felony drug possession and was released after posting $1,000 bond, according to ABC7.

Pankey is currently being held for the death of her son on a $250,000 bond at Denver’s Downtown Detention Center and is due back in court on January 9.

Her other child is in the custody of Arapahoe County protective services.

Next Up

6-Year-Old Found Dead Near Church Cemetery Finally Identified 23 Years Later

In 1999, a boy was found deceased in DeKalb County, Georgia. For over two decades, the child remained nameless until July 2022, when police announced the child’s identity as William DaShawn Hamilton.

Digital Technology Helps Solve Murder Of California Nurse Found Brutally Stabbed

“I felt that there was something broken in that person,” one official said of discovering who had committed the crime.

Son Of TikTok Star 'Mama Tot' Was Murdered A Day Before His 19th Birthday

Randon Lee was shot and killed at a gas station in Prichard, Alabama on June 24, 2022 — one day before what would’ve been his 19th birthday.

Accident Or Murder? Man Fleeing House Fire Dies After His Wife Strikes Him With Vehicle

“I don’t know why he didn’t survive,” Linda Stermer says of her husband Todd’s grisly 2007 death in Michigan.

Florida Mom Shot And Killed After Knocking On Neighbor’s Door

Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens was shot after knocking on the door of a neighbor who complained about the victim’s children playing in the neighborhood and reportedly used racist slurs against the family.

Husband Of Missing Mother Who Searched 'How To Get Away With Murder’ Pleads Guilty To Her Murder

55-year-old Elizabeth Capaldi was reported missing on Oct. 12, 2022. In April 2023, her husband pleaded guilty to strangling and dismembering her, and hiding her remains.

Inside The Tragic Hart Family Murder-Suicide Crash

Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed themselves and murdered their six adopted children in 2018 by driving their SUV off a cliff in California.

Cold Case Victim Identified As Southern California Mother 27 Years After Her Murder

A female body was found near a highway in the Moreno Valley area of California in 1996. After 27 years, she has been identified as 41-year-old Juana Rosas-Zagal.

Judge Accused Of Killing Wife Allegedly Texted Staff ‘I Just Shot My Wife. I Won’t Be In Tomorrow.”

Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson allegedly texted staff only minutes after shooting his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, during a heated argument on Aug. 3, 2023.

Missing Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Officially Declared Dead As Trial Begins

Jennifer Dulos, a missing mother of five from New Canaan, Connecticut, was officially declared dead, and now her ex’s girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, is on trial in connection with her murder.