Overview
- Prosecutors announced Thursday that a grand jury returned 13 counts against three people, including the child’s mother, charging aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, felonious assault and related conspiracies.
- The boy, identified as seven-year-old William Evans, was found bound and unresponsive inside a closet on Aug. 6 and the coroner later determined blunt force trauma to the head was the cause of death.
- Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco and investigators reported the child had numerous other injuries of varying ages, including a fractured arm, and said he was likely dead at least a day before discovery.
- Law enforcement said one defendant has acknowledged involvement and a judge ordered a competency hearing for that person in early September while officers continue toxicology, DNA and pathologist testing.
- Community members and a national nonprofit launched fundraising to support the family, and prosecutors said they will revisit penalty decisions if new evidence from ongoing forensic work changes the case.