Hamilton County coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco declared that seven-year-old William Michael Evans-Ellis succumbed to blunt force trauma-related injuries, per First Alert 7. Cincinnati and Norwood Police Department authorities responded to a home in Oakley after receiving a report of a disturbance on Thursday, August 6, per the People. Officials found the unresponsive kid inside a bedroom closet, bound by duct tape.
Sammarco stopped in her tracks when she initially encountered the child’s body
While the coroner determined the cause of Evans-Ellis’ death to be blunt force trauma, she added that he had multiple other injuries. The seven-year-old also had a grave elbow injury called “comminuted supracondylar fracture of the distal humerus,” per the People. Sammarco noted that the injuries were “too numerous to count” and indicated that the abuse had taken place over a prolonged period of time.
“We always say we expect the worst, and sometimes, we get it,” Sammarco remarked, referring to the horrors of the case. The coroner said that the Oakley home had many toys and she had to walk through a room full of LEGOs to get to the bedroom where authorities discovered the seven-year-old, per First Alert 7.
The initial sight of the child’s body froze Sammarco. She eventually stated that there was enough duct tape involved in binding the child to prevent him from escaping the situation.
The victim had most likely endured unthinkable physical abuse
Evans-Ellis’ mother, Kaitlin Evans, and two other women, Kirby Rankin and Nessa Keaney, lived in the same house as the seven-year-old and are prime suspects in the child’s death. Authorities have arrested the three women, who are now facing charges of murder and child endangerment, per ABC affiliate WCPO. The three suspects could face additional charges after autopsy results and “additional interviews with witnesses.”…