Texas Couple Arrested After Their Special Needs Son is Found in a Shallow Grave, Cops Got Involved Over Cryptic Facebook Post

Conservative News DailyOctober 26, 2025

A Texas couple, December Mitchell and Jonathan Mitchell, have been charged with tampering with and fabricating physical evidence after the body of their special needs adult son, Jonathan Kinman, was found buried on their property in Burleson, Texas. The case began when police were alerted by a social media post suggesting Kinman had died, but initial conflicting data about the circumstances of his death raised suspicions. Despite claims by the couple that Kinman had been cremated and died at a hospital, police later discovered his body in a shallow grave during a search of their home. The cause and date of death have not yet been resolute.The couple is currently held in jail on $250,000 bond each. Neighbors expressed shock, revealing they were unaware Kinman lived at the property and questioned the couple’s actions. The Kinman family has vowed too cooperate fully with law enforcement to seek truth and justice.

A Texas couple is being charged after the body of a special needs adult was found on their property.

The body of Jonathan Kinman, 26, was found at a property owned by December Mitchell, his mother, and Jonathan Mitchell, his stepfather, who were charged with tampering with and fabricating physical evidence to impair a human corpse, a second-degree felony, according to KDFW-TV.

The investigation into Jonathan Kinman’s death began on Oct. 14 when Burleson police were notified that a post from Kinman’s mom and stepfather indicated he had died.

According to CBS, the post on Jonathan Mitchell’s page read, “So even at your strongest, certain things can make a man, father, and friend break you down to your core. I loved you so much more than I can express even if I didn’t always show it, but my heart is broken in pieces right now. I know [you’re] in a better place, but it still hurts.”

The Mitchells admitted to police that Kinman died, but then the story got complicated.

“The first information was she said he was taken to Hugeley Hospital and pronounced there. We followed up with that and that was not correct,” Burleson Police Deputy Chief Doug Sandifer said.

“The conflicting information definitely led us to believe that something was not as it should be,” he said.

Jonathan James Mitchell, & December Marie Mitchell, the parents of a special-needs man, were arrested last week in Burleson, Texas, & charged with one count each of tampering or fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair a human corpse in the death of their son,… pic.twitter.com/WE5JCGxLjr

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) October 21, 2025

CBS noted that the couple also said at one point that Kinman had been cremated.

On Oct. 15, Burleson police and the Texas Rangers searched the home where Kinman lived with his mother and stepfather and found his body in a shallow grave.

Police have not yet determined the cause or date of Kinman’s death.

“We were horrified to hear the news about our precious Jonathan. This is a living nightmare for the Kinman family. Please know that we are in full cooperation with law enforcement and we will fight for every last ounce of truth and justice to come to light for the sake of our sweet boy,” members of the family said in a statement.

Judy Harris, a neighbor, said she and her husband did not know that Kinman lived on the property where his body was found.

“If it were natural causes, then they had nothing to fear. They should’ve called the police, rather than taking him into the backyard and burying him,” Harris said.

“Never saw him. That’s the thing. No one in the neighborhood ever saw him,” she added.

“The detectives asked me about him or if I’d ever laid eyes on him and I didn’t even know who they were talking about,” neighbor Eric Tovar remarked. “They could seem like great people, but people got things going on that you don’t know of.”

A Facebook post from the Burleson Police Department said the Mitchells were locked up in the Johnson County Jail, where they each face a $250,000 bond.

People reported that an affidavit filed in arresting the couple said that as cadaver dogs searched their residence, police video caught Kinman’s mother saying, “The dog was going to find him on me… it was all me… that dog was going to find him.”