Warning: This post contains distressing details of child abuse.
In 2022, London Kerr went missing in Moore, Oklahoma, and now new disturbing details have been revealed about her life before she disappeared.
Her mother, Ashley Rowland, is now facing serious charges in connection to her disappearance, including child abandonment and allowing abuse.
Investigators believe she sold her 2-year-old daughter to a drug dealer in exchange for meth.
Rowland, 39, and her boyfriend, Joshua Denton, 40, are currently in jail, while investigators continue to uncover a disturbing timeline of their crimes.
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| Joshua Denton |
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Ashley Rowland
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In April 2023, agents from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services were sent to take custody of the toddler but couldn’t find her.
They found Rowland at a home in Moore, about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, and when they questioned her, she said the toddler was with her father in Georgia.
Authorities later determined that Rowland had lied about her daughter’s whereabouts, so they notified the Moore Police Department.
In November 2023, Ashley Rowland was arrested and questioned about the disappearance of her daughter, London Kerr.
According to court documents cited by
Law&Crime, Rowland initially told investigators that in April 2022, she handed London over to a man named Carlos in a parking lot.
She claimed that Carlos was the toddler’s biological father, but admitted that no identification or custody papers were exchanged during the meeting.
Also, Rowland initially told investigators that Carlos used to sell her methamphetamine but later, she claimed it was a lie.
After her interrogation, authorities found several inconsistencies in her story.
She could not provide any verifiable details about Carlos, including a way to reach him.
She said she only knew he was traveling to Mexico after giving him London, and that she had no way of contacting him.
Detectives even searched for anyone matching her description but found no record of a man with the name and birthdate she provided.
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| London Kerr |
To further complicate the case, Rowland admitted that she was actually in Georgia when London was conceived.
Investigators later found out that she was with another boyfriend at the time, and the police now believe he is the little girl’s real father.
This revelation made them question her whole story and even wonder if Carlos was ever real.
Despite extensive questioning, Rowland could not give a credible explanation for London’s whereabouts.
She maintained that she had not seen her daughter since the day she allegedly handed her over to Carlos, leaving investigators with no solid leads.
Because there was no concrete information, police began treating the case as a possible homicide, leading to some of the charges against her.
However, what really happened to London is still unknown.
"We don't have very credible information from the people that assumed responsibility or had custody of this child," Sgt. Dillon Quirk told KOCO.
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| London Kerr before her disappearance |
At the time of London Kerr’s Disappearance, she lived with her mother, and her mother's boyfriend, Joshua Denton.
As investigators looked deeper into London's case, they spoke with Denton’s children, who revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse the toddler faced before she disappeared.
Denton’s 15-year-old son said that his father repeatedly hit her with a wooden paddle, which had the words "The Last Resort" written on it.
The boy also stated Denton shot London with a BB gun, leaving visible marks and bruises on her body.
Denton’s younger children disclosed that he would pour hot sauce into London’s eyes on multiple occasions and lock her inside a closet as punishment.
They also recalled a troubling incident where Denton allegedly forced the toddler to bite into a hot pepper.
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| Age progression image of London Kerr at 5 years. |
Denton’s children were not spared from the cruelty and torment.
His 8-year-old daughter made additional allegations, and accused him of sexually abusing her.
His teenage son told police that Denton once duct-taped him to a chair and whipped him with a belt while Rowland watched without intervening.
The boy also claimed his father threatened to kill him and "make him disappear" if he ever reported the abuse to authorities.
Investigators later recovered the paddle and BB gun described in the testimonies from a storage unit linked to Denton and Rowland.
These findings corroborated the children’s accounts, painting a harrowing picture of the environment London lived in before her disappearance.
Denton’s son recalled that the last time he saw London, she was in a car with Rowland and Denton.
"Say goodbye to London," Rowland allegedly told him before driving away.
Rowland claimed they were taking London to her father’s house, but no one has seen the little girl since.
The Oklahoma City Police Department has taken over the case, believing London was last seen in their jurisdiction.
"This is a very active case that we are working diligently on," police told KOTV.
"All leads are being investigated in relation to the location of the child."
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has called the situation "heartbreaking and unimaginable.
If you have any information about London Kerr’s disappearance, contact:
- Oklahoma City Police Homicide Tip Line: 405-297-1200
- Crime Stoppers: 405-235-7300
Rowland and Denton remain in Cleveland County Jail without bond as the search for London continues.
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