'Could've been prevented': Suspect in boy's murder convicted of assault last month
CINCINNATI (WKRC) — There are new details about the criminal history of one of the suspects in the torture and murder of 7-year-old William Evans.
Kirby Rankin was the roommate of the boy's biological mother, Kaitlin Evans, and they shared a home in Oakley with another roommate, Nessa Keaney. Prosecutors say the defendants co-parented the boy. Family tells Local 12 the boy had autism and ADHD.
All three suspects now face murder and child endangering charges in the killing of William. All of them have pleaded not guilty.
Police went to the home in Oakley Thursday afternoon after the boy's biological mother showed up at a nearby urgent care. She claimed someone was trying to kill her, and her son had been kidnapped. When police went inside the home, they found William dead and duct-taped in a closet.
Rankin was convicted of misdemeanor assault and aggravated menacing in July, stemming from an incident at the Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield on Jan. 4. The victim, Amy Bunnell, and her husband shared dashcam video from her car showing her driving through the parking lot that day.
As she made her way to a parking spot, three people, including one carrying a child, could be seen walking by her car.
"I was looking at my rear dash, the rear camera, and saw out of the corner of my eye Kirby was pointing behind me," said Bunnell.
She parked and got out of her car. That's when Bunnell says Rankin accused her of almost hitting her child with the car. Things escalated shortly after Bunnell started walking away.
"When he chased me down, and I said, 'What do you want?' the first thing he said was, 'I've got a gun and I will shoot you,' and I said, 'Shoot me? Why?' And he was still cussing, and that's when he shoved me," Bunnell explained.
Bunnell recalls stumbling back.
"And then he just punched me right in the face, and it sent me reeling," said Bunnell.
Bunnell says a Good Samaritan and his wife came up after things turned physical.
"He said if he didn't leave, he was going to shoot him too, and then he produced a gun, and he did say, 'Don't make me do this,'" she said.
She says she called 911 and parked her car elsewhere. Rankin was arrested and Bunnell was transported to the hospital. She went into detail about her injuries.
"I had a concussion, a neck strain. I fractured three teeth, and I tore my meniscus that I had surgery for May 8," Bunnell said.
She's dealing with not only injuries physically, but also emotionally. She says she has dealt with panic attacks in the days, weeks and months since this incident took place. She also has worried about her safety, especially after learning Rankin got out of jail the day after this all took place.
She says she found out Friday morning that three people, including Rankin, were all charged in the murder of William.
"They've killed that little boy. He's done it; he's killed that little boy. I told them. I told them I was worried about that little boy, and he killed him," said Bunnell.
Bunnell and her husband say they fought to have the charges against Rankin upgraded to a felony.
"It all could've been prevented if he had been in jail. None of this would have happened if it had been a felony," said Bunnell. "And probably there would've been a child welfare check or something, but they never entertained — they just kept telling me, 'No, you were only punched one time.'"
Rankin is set to be sentenced in the case involving Bunnell in September.
Currently, Rankin is behind bars in the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $1.1 million bond. Evans and Keaney are also being held on a $1.1 million bond.