Autopsy: Woman killed self after revealing stepson’s decomposed body

WICHITA, Kan. — An autopsy on a 5-year-old Wichita boy whose decomposing body was found months after he was reporting missing couldn't determine how he died, leaving behind few answers for a community that had been gripped by his disappearance.

The autopsy report of Lucas Hernandez lists both the cause and manner of his death as undetermined, and another autopsy also released Wednesday found that the Kansas woman who led an investigator to his body subsequently killed herself, The Wichita Eagle reported.

Lucas was missing for more than three months when his father's girlfriend, Emily Glass, led a private investigator on May 24 to his body under a bridge in rural Harvey County.

She committed suicide two weeks after his body was found, according to her autopsy. The autopsies were performed by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center.

Glass' boyfriend, Jonathan Hernandez, found the 27-year-old woman dead this month of a gunshot wound. Police have said they found three suicide notes with her body. Glass reported Hernandez' son missing on Feb. 17.

The autopsy on the boy said his body was found "in a state of advanced decomposition under a pile of debris in a culvert." It noted that X-rays showed "no obvious skeletal trauma."

After she was acquitted of child endangerment in an unrelated case involving her own daughter, Glass led the private investigator to Lucas' body. She was arrested on suspicion of lying to authorities, but freed. Prosecutors didn't charge her in Lucas' death but described her as a person of interest.

District Attorney Marc Bennett said in an emailed statement that he will make a formal announcement early next month after reviewing the autopsies and meeting with investigators.

A community memorial service for Lucas is planned for Saturday.