H0RRIFYING IN CINCINNATI, OHIO — 7-YEAR-OLD WILLIAM EVANS WAS FOUND D3AD INSIDE A “HOUSE OF HORR0RS” CLOSET… AND THE SCENE HAS LEFT EVERYONE STUNNED
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: William’s mother claimed that her co-parent tried to kill her and take the boy before she collapsed in an emergency room.
View 5 ImagesWilliam Evans, 7, was found unresponsive in a closet bound with duct tape(Image: GoFundMe)
The grandparents of a 7-year-old boy hired a private investigator over concerns that the child was being abused, but the reality was much worse than what they imagined.
A charge nurse called 911 to report that a barefoot woman had entered the emergency department, dropped to the floor, and . The nurse told the dispatcher that the woman claimed her son was being held in the attic in a nearby apartment.
The woman identified herself as William’s mother and accused Rankin of trying to kill her and take the child. Police were sent to the hospital and the apartment for a welfare check.
An officer reported that a juvenile was in a closet and “not moving.” A dispatch entry stated that the child was “found tied up in a closet.”
Kaitlin Evans said her co-parent had tried to kill her and take William (Image: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
Dispatchers then asked fire personnel to expedite their response, according to records. William was found unresponsive inside the home, said police. Cincinnati Fire Department personnel determined that the boy was dead.
Homicide detective Kyle Smith testified in court on Friday that William had been severely beaten over the past two months, calling the incident “probably one of the most disturbing cases of child abuse” he had ever seen during his decades-long career in law enforcement. Investigators believe William was held underwater for a prolonged period, said Smith.
He also said Rankin shared her involvement in what he described as a prolonged child-abuse incident and implicated Evans and Keaney as active participants. Rankin’s attorney requested a competency evaluation, citing what the lawyer called serious mental health issues.
William’s grandparents hired a private investigator after suspecting that he was being abused (Image: GoFundMe)
William’s grandparents, Mike and Tina Evas, told WLWT that they were worried that the boy’s home had become a “house of horrors.” The grandparents said William, who often spent Fridays and Saturdays with them, told them about six weeks before his death that he didn’t want to return home.
They said Kaitlin restricted their contact with William after this. Mike and Tina said they saw the boy once during the final six weeks of his life and saw a bruise on his shoulder.
That visit took place about four weeks before his death, and was the last time they saw him. Mike and Tina met with an attorney, along with William’s paternal grandparents, and hired a private investigator to monitor William and his mother.
Evans named Kirby Rankin as the abuser (Image: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
However, Rankin said that Evans and Nessa Keaney were active participants (Image: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office)
Mike said relatives feared that William and Kaitlin were both being abused. He said he rented a car on Thursday to watch the home, but found police vehicles outside.
William’s family released a statement on the news of his death. “The pain of losing such a sweet, beautiful, innocent child is beyond description. We will love and miss him forever,” it read.
A GoFundMe was created by the family with more than $15,700 of an $18,000 goal raised at the time of writing. “Right now, the focus is on surrounding William’s loved ones with compassion as they grieve this unimaginable loss and begin the painful process of honoring his memory,” read the fundraising page.
“Rest peacefully, sweet William. You are loved, you are remembered, and you will never be forgotten.”