In a case that has sent shockwaves through Colorado and beyond, authorities have confirmed that seven-year-old Kaden McWilliams was murdered by his parents, Elijah McWilliams Panky and Leland Panky, who then encased his body in concrete inside a dog crate and stored it in a rental unit for months. The gruesome discovery was made by Aurora police on Christmas Eve 2018, ending a frantic search that began two days earlier when a domestic violence call led officers to the couple’s hotel room. Kaden, described by his teachers and classmates as a bright, smiling, and kind-hearted boy who loved nature and was known for his integrity, had been missing since late May 2018, when his mother pulled him from school, claiming she would homeschool him.
Instead, investigators say, the boy was subjected to horrific 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 and neglect, ultimately dying at the hands of those who should have protected him.
The nightmare began to unravel on December 21, 2018, when Elijah Panky called police to report a domestic violence incident involving her husband Leland at an Aurora extended stay hotel. Officers arriving at the scene observed suspected heroin in the room and discovered that the couple had two children: a baby girl and seven-year-old Kaden. When asked about their whereabouts, Elijah claimed they were with Leland, but Leland, when contacted at a separate hotel, gave evasive answers.
While searching the room, detectives found a business card for a public storage facility, which would become the key to unlocking the tragedy. The storage unit, rented since May 17, 2018, was the site where Kaden’s body would be found, wrapped in layers of black trash bags and duct tape, inside a large dog crate filled with concrete.
The timeline of Kaden’s disappearance is chilling. He last attended Ellis Elementary School on May 24, 2018, just days before the school year ended. His principal, Nicole Whiteman, described him as a hard worker who was always positive, caring, and lived the school’s core value of integrity.
His teacher, Christina Hafler, recalled how Kaden would walk into the cafeteria and children would shout, “Kaden, come sit by me!” His classmates looked to him for guidance. But after the family was evicted from their home in early 2018, they moved into hotels, and Elijah, who worked full-time at a financial analytics firm, left Leland as the sole caregiver for Kaden and his young sister.
According to Elijah’s own confession, she knew Leland was mistreating Kaden after they moved into an InTown Suites in Sheridan, Colorado, around late May 2018.
The 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 escalated to a fatal level. On July 11, 2018, just days before Kaden died, Elijah told detectives she awoke to find Leland holding the boy by the neck against a wall, his feet dangling. She heard a ruckus from the bathroom but never heard Kaden cry out.
Afterward, Leland told her cryptically, “We can’t save both children,” and suggested taking Kaden to the mountains to bury him. The next morning, Elijah found her son dead inside the dog crate, where Leland had forced him to sleep, often covering it with blankets. Instead of seeking help, the couple drove to a store, bought Quikrete concrete, industrial-strength trash bags, and water, then drove to the storage unit.
There, they poured the concrete into the crate, wrapped it in layers of plastic and duct tape, and left it.
For months, Kaden’s body remained hidden. The storage unit surveillance footage captured both parents entering the facility multiple times between May and December 2018, including Leland on September 27, despite his later claim that he never accessed the unit after the couple separated. The truth unraveled on December 23, when a witness who had met Elijah in jail told police that Elijah had confessed to her: “A little boy died inside an animal carrier and is in my storage unit.”
The witness, who had been released from jail with Elijah on December 24, stayed with her at the hotel and heard the mother describe how her son cried out that he was hot and thirsty, but she stayed in bed. The next morning, Leland confirmed the boy was dead.
The autopsy, released on February 28, 2019, painted a harrowing picture of Kaden’s final months. The seven-year-old weighed only 27 pounds at death, a sign of severe emaciation and malnutrition. He had multiple injuries to his head, torso, and extremities, some of which showed evidence of healing, including a fractured right forearm that had been healing for 40 to 50 days and a nasal bone fracture that had begun to heal.
Dr. Meredith Frank, the medical examiner, determined the cause of death as homicide by undetermined means, with child maltreatment as a significant contributing condition. A forensic anthropologist noted blunt force trauma to the frontal bone, nasal bones, and right orbit, consistent with at least one blow.
The presence of a metabolite in Kaden’s liver tissue suggested possible complications from injuries, infection, or hyperthermia.
Prosecutors eventually reached plea deals with both parents. Leland Panky was sentenced to 72 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 resulting in death and tampering with a deceased human body. Elijah Panky received a 32-year sentence plus five years of mandatory parole.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann explained the decision, citing the risk of trial on first-degree homicide charges when the exact cause of death could not be determined. She described the case as one of the most horrific her office had ever seen, noting Leland’s actions were “intentional, deliberate, calculated, callous, self-serving, and deprived of any sense of humanity.”
In the wake of Kaden’s death, the community rallied to honor his memory. His teacher Christina Hafler started a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $6,200 for a memorial at Ellis Elementary. The project included a 21-foot mural on Dahlia Street in Denver, featuring a tree, a bumblebee to reflect Kaden’s love of nature, and a bright orange bench outside the school’s entrance.
A tree was also planted nearby. Brooke Webb, a parent of an Ellis student, led efforts to create the memorial and has since advocated for changes to Safe Haven laws to include older children, hoping to prevent similar tragedies. Webb also maintains a Facebook group, “Justice for Kaden McWilliams,” which has kept supporters informed as the case progressed.
Kaden’s younger sister, who was also in the home during the 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮, has been placed under the guardianship of her aunt, Sarah Cruz, who described the toddler as a “miracle and a survivor.”
The case has left a lasting impact on the Aurora and Denver communities, many of whom are grappling with the question of how a bright, outgoing boy could vanish from sight without anyone intervening. Kaden’s principal, Nicole Whiteman, recalled how he stood out from the moment he walked through the school doors every morning with a huge smile. His teacher Christina Hafler, who now sees the mural and bench each day, hopes that people will remember not only the tragedy but the joy Kaden brought to those around him.
“I hope that when people see the mural and the bench, they’ll remember Kaden and the amazing kid he was, and also think about the care and the joy we have at our school,” she said. The memorial, completed in September 2019, stands as a testament to a little boy who, despite his short life, touched the hearts of many.
Authorities urge anyone who suspects child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 to contact the Childhelp National Child 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 Hotline, which is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. The call could save a life, as it might have saved Kaden McWilliams.
