Messages between suspects indicate plan to kidnap, kill 7-year-old boy, court docs say

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CINCINNATI (WXIX) — The mother and two other suspects accused of killing William Evans-Ellis, the 7-year-old found dead in an Oakley home, have been indicted on additional charges by a Hamilton County Grand Jury.

EN ESPAÑOL | Mensajes entre sospechosas indican plan para secuestrar, matar a niño de 7 años

The boy’s mother, Kaitlin Evans, her partner, Kirby Rankin, and a third person, Nessa Keaney, have been indicted on 13 counts each:

• One count of aggravated murder
• Four counts of murder
• One count of kidnapping
• One count of felonious assault
• Four counts of child endangering
• One count of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder
• One count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping

According to the indictment, the three suspects exchanged texts through a platform called Signal. On July 4, Rankin sent an audio message to Keaney that included a plan to kidnap and kill Evans-Ellis.

Evans, Rankin and Keaney were all co-parents of the victim and they all lived in the same home. Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich declined to explain the kidnapping charges further because of the investigation.

“They failed miserably as parents,” Pillich said. “Instead, they committed atrocious acts causing this child to suffer terribly. And as for all of these monsters crimes that were committed, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure these people never again see the light of day and never again have the opportunity to harm another child.”

Although Evans-Ellis had a “plethora of injuries” all over his body and experienced “severe abuse for several weeks,” Pillich says what ultimately killed him was blunt force trauma to the head.

Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco confirmed the boy’s cause of death on Tuesday, revealing he also had injuries that appeared to be burn marks, a broken bone and “too many bruises to count.”

Cincinnati Interim Police Chief Adam Hennie could not go further in depth about the crime scene on Madison Road, but gave his condolences to the family of Evans-Ellis and those who responded to the home that day.

“These first responders see a lot of horrible things in their lives and through their careers,” chief Hennie says. “I don’t believe a human being is supposed to see something like this and be involved in a crime as horrible as this.”

Prosecutor will not seek the death penalty

An aggravated murder conviction carries a potential sentence to life in prison without parole and the death penalty.

Prosecutor Pillich says she is not yet seeking the death penalty in this case, especially since the three suspects are still under investigation.

“Keep in mind, anytime we have any kind of murder case, it takes months for the investigators and law enforcement to put together all of the evidence, compile all of the witness statements and the video ...,” explains Pillich. “We’ve had 10 days right now. So this investigation is definitely still ongoing.”

At this point, prosecutors, nor law enforcement have revealed a motive in the case.

911 call from hospital sparked investigation at Oakley home

On Aug. 6, a supervisor at Rookwood’s Mercy Health Hospital called Cincinnati police after a woman, identified as Kaitlin Evans, walked barefoot into the emergency room claiming her partner tried to kill her and kidnapped her son.

Evans identified her partner as Kirby Rankin.

The supervisor told dispatchers that she did not know if the woman was actually in danger or if she needed a psychiatric evaluation, according to the 911 calls.

That is what led police to the Oakley home on Madison Road.

A ‘horrific’ discovery inside a closet

When police arrived to the home, they were looking for Rankin and Evans’ son, William Evans-Ellis. That is when they found the boy’s body bound by duct tape inside a closet.

Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco arrived to the scene after she heard it was a child who was found dead.

Dr. Sammarco made her way to the closet, opened the doors and found the 7-year-old boy tied up with enough duct tape to prevent him from escaping.

“[I] opened the closet door, and just froze for a while,” she said during Tuesday’s press conference.

The coroner believes Evans-Ellis had been dead for about a day before he was found. Her office is still trying to determine the murder weapon.

All three suspects, all of whom identify as women, were arrested and charged Aug. 6.

Mother’s partner has a criminal history

Rankin was out on bond the day Evans-Ellis’ body was discovered.

According to a police report and court documents, she was convicted of assault and aggravated menacing outside of Jungle Jim’s International Market in Fairfield.

FOX19 NOW’s previous coverage says Rankin punched a woman in the face and threatened to shoot her while holding a firearm.

Remembering William Evans-Ellis

As they mourn the loss of their grandson, the grandparents of Williams Evans-Ellis say they will remember him as a sweet boy who loved to play games and loved Pokémon.

“We all loved William very much. He was a brilliant boy who made fast friends and loved to say he was a Lego Master Builder,” a family statement says in part. “He loved Pokémon (his favorite Pokémon often changed, but commonly included Pikachu and Snorlax), Octonauts and Creature Cases, reading books, telling jokes, making silly games, and playing with friends and family. He was incredibly caring, and would always make sure anyone who was hurt or upset was taken care of.”

A GoFundMe has been set up by the family for a celebration of life and memorial in Evans-Ellis’ honor.

Editor’s note: FOX19 NOW makes no representations or warranties of any kind about the authenticity, accuracy, or reliability of any GoFundMe campaign. Any donations you make to such campaigns are strictly at your own risk. If you have any questions related to the authenticity, accuracy, or reliability of a GoFundMe campaign, please contact GoFundMe directly or consult the GoFundMe Guarantee Policy.

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