Cause of Death Revealed in Case of Missing 13-Year-Old — as Man Who Called Police About His Body Is Charged By Nicole Acosta 37

Kansas authorities have determined the cause of death for a 13-year-old boy found dead days after he disappeared.

Airen Andula, of Pleasonton, Kan., died from “multiple dog bite injuries,” according to an autopsy conducted by the Wyandotte County Coroner’s Office. The findings were announced on Monday, Jan. 5 in a Kansas City Police Department press release.

Andula was last seen in his neighborhood on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 21, and found dead two days later in a desolate creek bed in Bates County, Mo., 30 miles from his home, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas previously said.

The boy was biking to a neighbor’s home to feed their pets while the family was away, KSHB reported at the time. He did not return home that evening and was later reported missing, according to the sheriff’s office.

Damon Leonard, 47, also of Pleasanton, has since been charged in connection with Andula’s death in both Kansas and Missouri, authorities said.

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In Linn County, Kan., Leonard has been charged with interference with law enforcement, criminal desecration and having a vicious dog at large.

He is also being held in Bates County, Mo., on a $100,000 cash-only bond on a charge of abandonment of a corpse related to the case. On Tuesday, Dec. 23, Leonard pleaded not guilty in Bates County Circuit Court, PEOPLE previously reported.

It’s unclear if he has entered a plea to the Kansas charges or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

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According to a probable cause affidavit previously obtained by PEOPLE, Leonard allegedly called the Bates County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri on Tuesday, Dec. 23 to say that he knew where the missing boy was and that he was dead.

“Leonard admitted that he transported the deceased child from Kansas to Missouri and left the body at the bottom of the creek bed before traveling back to Kansas where he resides,” authorities alleged in the probable cause statement.

Andula’s mother, Anita Gunn, told KSHB the tragedy has been a “big nightmare.”

“It’s unbelievable and we’re still not wanting to believe it’s real, but we know it is,” she said, per the outlet.