‘What you did was pure evil’ Father, 2 others sentenced for the death of Takoda Collins

DAYTON — All three people convicted on charges connected to the death of Takoda Collins will spend years in prison.

“Today we have seen justice being given to Takoda Collins,” said Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. “He represents all of the children who are abused and neglected in the community.”

“We have now shown that we are going to get justice for Takoda Collins and any victim like Takoda Collins,” Heck said.

The cases involve the murder of 10-year-old Collins, who in December 2019 died from years of abuse, according to prosecutors.

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For more than a year-and-a-half News Center 7 has told the tragic story of Collins’ life and death. The years of extreme abuse carried out by McLean, all while Hinze and Ebert did nothing to stop it.

There were attempts by teachers and children’s services to intervene, but none prevented Collins’ murder.

Collins’ father, Al McLean, was convicted on charges of murder, kidnapping, rape and child endangering earlier this month when he took a plea deal. McLean was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison.

Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division Lynda Dodd said the death penalty was not an option, but said today’s sentence will be close as he would be 83-years-old when he would first be eligible for parole.

Al McLean enters court for sentencing Al McLean enters court for sentencing

“What you did was pure evil. You provided no mercy to your son and you deserve none from this court,” Judge Dennis Adkins told McLean.

McLean’s attorney Michael Booher said he thinks “it’s wrong to call a guy a monster.”

“Things are not always as they seem,” Booher told News Center 7′s John Bedell. “We don’t believe it went on for years.”

McLean will have to register as a Tier III sex offender and will have to register on the state’s violent offender registry if he ever gets out of prison.

>> Father and fiancée plead guilty in Takoda Collins murder case

McLean’s fiancée Amanda Hinze also pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and child endangering. Hinze was sentenced to 22 to 27.5 years in prison. She had faced a maximum of up to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors said if Hinze behaves in prison she’ll be able to get out in 22 years, however if she has bad behavior she could be locked up for the full 27.5 years. The state prison system will make the decision on when she actually gets out, prosecutors said.

Hinze’s sister, Jennifer Ebert, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges on May 27, 2020. Ebert was sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison. If she behaves if prison, she will serve eight years. If not, the state prison system can argue to keep her locked up until 12.

On Dec. 13, 2019, medics were called to McLean’s Kensington Street home after Collins was reported to be unresponsive. Collins would be taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where he died.

>> Takoda Collins: Torture, abuse outlined before sentencing; defense argues for lesser sentence

In 28 pages prosecutors filed this week ahead of Wednesday’s sentencings, they provide the most complete picture yet of what Collins went through ahead of sentencing, describing how the child was “battered from head to toe” when a coroner examined him. To having suffered “the type of injury typically only observed in catastrophic events such as a severe car accident.”

But, prosecutors said “the only thing more horrific than the facts of Takoda’s death, were the facts of the life he was forced to live.”

McLean forced Takoda to live in a dark attic, without clothes, light, food or a bathroom. He forced him to eat his feces and for “20 hours a day” forced Collins “to pose, in bizarre and painful punishment positions” with McLean, Hinze and Ebert watching the child on video. Pointing out if he moved, at which point McLean would beat the child.

And, on the final day of Collins’ life, the child suffered “severe beatings, water torture” and a “brutal rape” with a broken chair leg.

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