Overview
- Police found 7-year-old William Evans bound with duct tape and unresponsive inside a closet at an Oakley residence, a discovery that prompted murder and child endangerment charges against his mother, Kaitlin Evans, and two people who lived with them.
- Officers responded after a barefoot, distraught woman identified as the child’s mother arrived at Mercy Health Rookwood and a nurse called 911, and investigators say the boy showed signs of months-long abuse including blunt-force injuries, burns, and apparent water-related torture.
- All three defendants were arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and each was held on roughly $1.1 million bond as investigators and prosecutors continue interviews and review evidence.
- The Hamilton County Coroner scheduled a press briefing to discuss ongoing tissue analysis and preliminary autopsy findings, and a judge ordered a competency hearing for Kirby Rankin for early September.
- William’s grandparents say they warned authorities after a January assault conviction of one suspect and hired a private investigator, and the case has raised public questions about earlier charging decisions that prosecutors say were reviewed and handled appropriately.