Cincinnati Mom, Partners Face Murder Charges in Boy’s Death

The Cincinnati child abuse case at the center of a growing criminal investigation has left a 7-year-old boy dead and three adults facing murder charges. Police found William Evans dead in a closet inside his family’s Cincinnati home on Thursday, and prosecutors say his mother and her two live-in partners are now being held in connection with the boy’s death.

Authorities identified the defendants as Kaitlin Evans, 38, Nessa Keaney, 23, and Kirby Rankin, 33. According to testimony and court statements cited in the case, investigators believe the child was burned, beaten and subjected to water torture before he was left in the closet. Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco said at a Tuesday press conference that when she opened the closet door at the home, she “just froze for a while.” She also said William’s cause of death was blunt trauma to the head.

The coroner’s office said the boy’s head was fractured and the bones were separated. Investigators are also looking into a possible weapon, and officials said the abuse appeared across the child’s body. Court testimony from veteran homicide detective Kyle Smith described the scene as the most disturbing abuse he had seen in more than two decades with law enforcement. He said the injuries included physical beatings and blunt force trauma to the face, torso, back and limbs, and told the court he believed the boy suffered water and burn torture before being placed in the closet.

The trio were arrested Thursday and each faces murder and child endangerment charges. Their bond was set at $1 million for those counts, with an additional $100,000 requirement for all three defendants as the case moves forward. The investigation remains active, and authorities have said sexual abuse has not been ruled out. The Cincinnati child abuse case has drawn close attention because of the age of the victim and the severity of the allegations being examined by investigators.