Ohio Child Abuse Case Centers on Murder Charges

The Ohio child abuse case surrounding the death of 7-year-old William Michael Evans-Ellis has taken a grim turn, with three adults now charged with murder after investigators say the boy was found dead and bound with duct tape in a Cincinnati apartment. Police said William was discovered unresponsive on Aug. 6 inside a closet at a home in the city’s Oakley neighborhood.

William’s mother, Kaitlin Evans, 38, along with Kirby Rankin, 33, and Nessa Keaney, 23, have each been charged with murder and child endangerment. All three have pleaded not guilty and were ordered held on $1.1 million bond. Prosecutors say the boy lived at the apartment with the three defendants, who authorities described as co-parenting him. A veteran Cincinnati homicide detective told the court the case was among the most disturbing examples of child abuse he had seen in more than two decades in law enforcement.

Investigators allege William suffered severe and repeated abuse before his death. Court testimony described injuries across his face, torso, back and extremities that were consistent with beatings and blunt-force trauma. Authorities also believe he was choked and abused with water. Investigators suspect he may have been held underwater for an extended time and burned during the alleged assault. The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office later ruled the death a homicide, according to reporting cited in the case.

Police found the child’s body after responding to the apartment on Aug. 6. As the Ohio child abuse case unfolded in court, investigators alleged Rankin disclosed involvement in what they described as a prolonged abuse incident and implicated Evans and Keaney as active participants. Keaney’s attorney has said she tried to provide treatment to William after he was hurt by another person in the home. Rankin has also been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation at the request of her lawyer.