A Cleveland playground is now a place of mourning for the two girls found in the suitcases

It’s called Saranac Playground, and when the weather’s nice it’s a magnet for kids on Cleveland’s east side.

But in recent days, this patch of green has been visited by dozens of mourners who want to honor the two girls who were found stuffed in suitcases and buried in a shallow grave.

In the days since the bodies of Mila Chatman, 8, and her sibling, Amor Wilson, 10, were found Monday, a sanctuary of animals and flowers has grown.

So is the mystery surrounding their deaths.

Their mother, Aliyah Henderson, 28, has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder.

During his first court appearance Friday in Cleveland Municipal Court, he was not asked about the tragedy that left him in handcuffs, shocked his hometown and drew national attention.

Municipal Court Judge Jeffrey Johnson set Henderson’s bond at $2 million, citing the “nature of the allegations” and his concern for public safety.

Dressed in a blue sweatshirt and surrounded by court officials, Henderson remained oblivious.

“Thank you” was the only word he said during the brief hearing, in response to the judge wishing him luck.

Earlier, Assistant Attorney Kristine Travaglini testified in court that the bodies of the little girls were “badly decomposed.”

So far, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has not said how or when the little girls died, but confirmed that DNA tests showed they were related as siblings.

Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said no child was amputated.

Henderson, who lives near Saranac Playground, had another child living at her home when police took her into custody Wednesday, Todd said earlier this week.

The Department of Children and Family Services has taken custody of the child, who appears to be healthy, Todd said. But he did not give any other information about the child.

A man walking his dog reported the tragic discovery Monday at the playground, near the all-boys school Ginn Academy.

Responding to a 911 call, Cleveland homicide detectives confirmed that the man’s dog had found the little girl’s body, and they quickly found a second shallow grave and a suitcase that contained another body.

“It was like a lot of dirt, and then he stopped sniffing … and he was taking a long time,” Phillip Donaldson told WEWS-TV. “Then I went back and looked, I saw the suitcase had been buried, I pulled it and looked, and there it was the head.

Donaldson said the pile of dirt has been there for at least a week.

On Thursday, Deshaun Chatman, who claims to be Mila Chatman’s father, visited the girl’s burial site. He told local reporters that he has not been in touch with his daughter for many years. She said Henderson kept “manipulating” her and that she had contacted DCFS several times about getting custody of Mila.

“I feel like nothing,” Chatman said. “I couldn’t save my daughter.”

Asked about Deshaun Chatman’s assertion that he was trying to find his daughter, a Cuyahoga County spokeswoman said. Jennifer Ciaccia in a statement called the girls’ deaths “a tragedy for their families and our entire community” and declined to release further details, citing an active criminal investigation and confidentiality obligations under Ohio law.

NBC News has reached out to Henderson’s mother for comment.

Back in 2019, Henderson and her daughters were featured in a Cleveland Plain Dealer article about a local hospital’s program to help struggling families.

It featured a photo of a smiling Henderson holding 3-year-old Amor on her lap and Henderson’s mother holding Mila, who was almost 2 at the time.

“I could really use the help,” Henderson said in the story.