A FRANTIC CALL FOR HELP — WILLIAM EVANS’ MOM ACCUSED HER PAR-TNER OF TRYING TO KI-LL HER AND TAKE HER 7-YEAR-OLD SON… THEN CAME THE DEVASTATING DISCOVERY
CINCINNATI (WXIX) — A recording of a 911 call reveals what led up to police finding 7-year-old William Evans bound in duct tape and dead in the closet of a Cincinnati home last week.
A woman who said she was the boy’s mother walked barefoot into the emergency room at Mercy Health Rookwood in Norwood and lay on the floor about 12:43 p.m. Thursday, Aug 6, according to a 911 call placed by a hospital supervisor.
The woman repeatedly claimed someone tried to kill her and kidnapped her son, identifying that person as her partner, Kirby Rankin, according to a recording of the 911 call.
The hospital supervisor told the dispatcher she didn’t know if the woman was in danger or having a psychiatric emergency.
FOX19 NOW obtained a copy of it from Hamilton County’s 911 center via public record request.
‘Child found tied up in closet’
Norwood and Cincinnati police responded to the Oakley home on Madison Road where the boy lived and was co-parented by his mother, Kaitlin Evans; Rankin, 33, and Nessa Keaney.
At 1:34 p.m., first responders reported: “Child found tied up in closet,” a dispatch report shows.
All three women were taken into custody and charged later that day with murder and endangering children in the death of the developmentally disabled child.
They are locked up at the Hamilton County jail, each on suicide watch and with a $1.1 million bond.
Rankin and Keaney use she/her pronouns while the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office refers to them using he/him pronouns.
Boy choked by water torture: Police
In court Friday, a veteran Cincinnati homicide detective, Kyle Smith, revealed William was severely beaten over the past two months.
Smith told the judge this case is “probably one of the most disturbing cases of child abuse” that he had ever seen during his decades on the force.
William was choked by being “water tortured,” and “burn tortured,” according to the detective.
“We believe the child was choked underwater, held underwater for a long period of time,” he said.
He also revealed in court that Rankin had disclosed her involvement in the “prolonged child abuse incident” and implicated Evans and Keaney as actively participating.
Rankin’s lawyer immediately sought a competency evaluation, contending she has “documented serious mental health issues.”
Rankin, Evans and Keaney all pleaded not guilty and are expected to return to court later this month.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only.
Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously.
No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.