CINCINNATI — A mother and two others have been arrested following the death of a 7-year-old in a Cincinnati neighborhood.
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Officers from both the Cincinnati and Norwood Police Departments responded to reports of a possible disturbance at a home in the Oakley neighborhood around 1 p.m. on Thursday, our news partners at WCPO reported.
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When they got to the home, they found an unresponsive boy, later identified as William Evans, inside.
Authorities confirmed that the boy’s death is being investigated as a homicide, and that three people were arrested in connection with the investigation.
The boy’s mother, 38-year-old Kaitlin Evans, and two other women, 23-year-old Nessa Keaney and 33-year-old Kirby Rankin, were arrested and charged with murder and child endangerment.
All three women were in court on Friday, where a judge set their bond at $1.1 million each.
During their arraignment, an investigator with over 20 years of law enforcement experience told the judge that this case is ”probably one of the most disturbing examples of child abuse" that he has ever witnessed," WCPO reported.
Investigators saw “a number of injuries that would indicate physical beatings, blunt force injuries from a striking device on the face, torso, back, upper and lower extremities.”
He also added that some “water torture” and “burn torture” may have been involved, adding that they believe the boy was “choked underwater.”
WCPO reported that Rankin disclosed her own involvement in the incident and implicated the other two women as being “active participants.”
All three women remain booked in the Hamilton County Justice Center.
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