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CLEVELAND (WJW) – The father of one of two young girls killed and buried in suitcases in Collinwood, Ohio told Nexstar’s WJW Thursday that he tried for years to get his daughter back from the girl’s mother.
Watch previous coverage of the case above.
“I just feel useless. I couldn’t save my daughter,” the man said. He spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his identity and described how his life has been turned upside down.
He shared photos and videos of his daughter, Mila, an adorable child with a bright smile. The man spoke after dropping flowers at a growing memorial near the site where the two girls were buried in separate suitcases.
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Nichelle Wilson, left, the grandmother of one of the girls whose bodies were found earlier this week, Amor Wilson, stands with her friend Sharon Hunter, right, at the site where a memorial is now, in Cleveland, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) -
People visit a memorial at the site where two girls bodies were found earlier this week, in Cleveland, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) -
The father of one of the two girls whose bodies were found earlier this week, shows a photo of his daughter Mila, taken in 2020, at the site the bodies were found, in Cleveland, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
He wants the public to know he believes his daughter’s mother kept Mila from him for years.
“When it was something so simple. Just give me her. You’re feeling stressed, give me her,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get her for six years. You’ve been ducking me. You told me I was too family-oriented. That’s why you ain’t giving my daughter. Been tried, tried, tried. Then talked to CPS numerous occasions.”
A 28-year-old woman police have now identified as Aliyah Henderson was arrested Thursday. Cleveland police said she is charged with two counts of aggravated murder. Police confirmed to WJW she is the girls’ mother.
Thursday evening, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the girls as 10-year-old Amor Wilson and 8-year-old Mila Chatman, both of Cleveland. The cause of death in both cases is listed as pending.
He said both victims’ fathers made efforts to gain custody.
“We both was in a position where we couldn’t get her because (the mother) always left,” he said.
Now he waits for more details from police while grieving the loss of Mila.
“I don’t know how long she’s been gone, how long she’s been dead. I don’t know how long she’s been missing, but it could have been prevented,” he said.
The man said he was told he was only used for child support and felt “iced out.”
He said he tried to apply for custody but his requests were denied, and CPS would not get involved because the girls had a home and a bed.
The last time he saw Mila was four years ago.