INDIANAPOLIS, IN – A man from Indiana has reached a plea agreement to avoid trial over the tragic death of a young girl whose body was discovered at an abandoned property, prosecutors announced. Roan Waters, 27, will enter a guilty plea to charges including neglect of a dependent resulting in death as part of a deal that reduces more severe potential charges.

Waters was detained in Colorado earlier this year on a warrant from Oklahoma, initially facing a slew of charges ranging from murder to child neglect resulting in bodily harm. However, in a plea accepted by a judge, Waters will face sentencing in June following his confession to the neglect charges.

This brings a critical chapter to a close in the case of Oaklee Snow, a child who was taken from her Oklahoma home in January. Prosecutors alleged that Waters, in the company of the girl’s mother, Madison Marshall, traveled to Indianapolis with Oaklee and her infant brother, leaving their father, Zachary Snow, to mark them as missing.

The disappearance of Oaklee, coupled with her brother’s discovery in a trap house, an infamous term for places where illegal drugs are used, sparked a nationwide search. It wasn’t until late April that Marshall, while in custody, revealed the grim location of her daughter’s remains in a dilapidated Morgantown property.

Investigators learned that Marshall accused Waters of frequently abusing Oaklee for typical toddler behaviors. He allegedly displayed violent disciplining methods, which Marshall claimed included excessive force over minor misdemeanors and restricting her eating routine.

The day Oaklee died, Marshall recounted hearing Waters harshly command her daughter to play with an inflatable ball, a scene that ended tragically as the young girl lay unresponsive, allegedly leading to fatal circumstances that yielded a disturbing scene for first responders.

Surprisingly, Marshall, who had been indicted alongside Waters, directed authorities to Oaklee’s final resting spot amid emotional distress. Inside the abandoned home’s dresser, authorities found Oaklee’s decomposed remains with clear injuries, ultimately declaring her death a homicide.

While Oaklee’s tragic passing has led to a prospective 45-year imprisonment for Waters, Marshall’s own plea agreement reached earlier this spring suggests that she faces her sentencing concurrently with Waters.

This case underscores the tragic outcomes linked to neglect and abuse, and the judicial system’s efforts to address such cases with the utmost gravity, ensuring justice for Oaklee and her family.