The cases against an Oakland County woman and her son, accused of murdering the son’s former teenage girlfriend, are bound over to Wayne County’s 3rd Judicial Circuit Court for possible trial.
At the conclusion of a recent preliminary exam in Inkster’s 22nd District Court, the judge advanced the cases against Charla Pendergrass, 49, of Clawson and Jalen Pendergrass, 24, of Inkster — each charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of London Thomas, 17, last year.
The body of the Detroit teen was found stuffed inside a container in an SUV parked in Southfield.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, London’s mother had reported her missing on April 6, 2025 because she didn’t return home after being dropped off the day before at Jalen Pendergrass’s house. London had been in a relationship with Jalen Pendergrass, but it allegedly ended at the time she arrived at his house, the prosecutor’s office stated.
Three weeks after London was dropped off at Jalen Pendergrass’s house, a male friend of Charla Pendergrass told Inkster police she had asked him to transport a sealed plastic bin to an SUV parked on Millard Street in Southfield, which he did, the prosecutor’s office stated. The contents were reportedly unknown to him.
Michigan State Police, along with the FBI and the Detroit Police Department, conducted a search at the Millard Street address and found London’s remains inside the bin, the prosecutor’s office stated.
Charla Pendergrass and Jalen Pendergrass are held in the Wayne County Jail. Arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 30.
