Ohio law enforcement officials said that the three suspects in the alleged torture and murder of a 7-year-old boy had planned in advance to kidnap and kill him.
Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Connie Pillich said in a media briefing Thursday that officials had text message evidence from the Signal encryption app about the alleged plot.
'They failed miserably as parents. Instead, they committed atrocious acts, causing this child to suffer terribly.'
7-year-old William Evans-Ellis was found dead, bound and wrapped with duct tape in a closet at his mother's apartment in Oakley that she shared with two other people, as previously reported by Blaze News.
Pillich revealed that the boy had been dead for a day before his body was found. She also said that the three suspects had taken a dog to a veterinarian the day before he was found, which raises suspicion that he was already dead when they left.
Police arrested 38-year-old Kaitlin Evans, the boy's biological mother, as well as 23-year-old Nessa Keaney and 33-year-old Kirby Rankin. The three were indicted on more than a dozen charges that include aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, and felonious assault.
Keany and Rankin have been described as women by the media, but police records indicate they are both biological males.
The coroner's office found the child had died of blunt force trauma to the head and had numerous other injuries indicating prolonged and severe abuse.
"This child was failed by the adults who were supposed to protect him," said Pillich. "The child was only 7 years old. He was vulnerable, he was dependent on the adults around him, and he deserved to be protected from harm. Instead, he endured horrific abuse and ultimately lost his life."
Among the injuries listed were a broken bone, bruises too numerous to count, possible burn marks, and water torture.
"This is a horrific, monstrous, unfathomable act," Pillich added. "They failed miserably as parents. Instead, they committed atrocious acts, causing this child to suffer terribly."
The charges carry a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"This case has been heartbreaking and deeply disturbing from the beginning," Pillich said. "Nothing can undo what happened to the child, but we can make sure his death is fully investigated and that those responsible face the consequences in court."
The three suspects are each being held on a bond of $1.1 million. The attorneys for the two males have formally requested competency evaluations.
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Three "women" are accused in the torture death of 7-year-old Ohio boy — but authorities said two of the suspects are male who co-parented the victim with his mother.
Cincinnati police said the Mercy Rookwood emergency department called Thursday after a woman claimed that someone was trying to kill her and her boy.
'We saw injuries that would indicate physical beatings, blunt force injuries from a striking device on the face, torso, back, upper and lower extremities ...'
"We have somebody that came in and kind of just dropped herself on the floor. She's barefoot. She thinks that her partner's trying to kill her, that they took her son," the worker said in the call to police.
"She's saying that he's hiding him up in the attic. She is sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth and barefoot," the worker added.
Hours later officers were called to a home on Madison Road in Oakley over a "suspicious death."
They found William Evans-Ellis bound and wrapped with duct tape in a closet. Police arrested two males who had been co-parenting with the victim's mother, who also was arrested.
Cincinnati police detective Kyle Smith said in court that the case is "one of the most disturbing examples of child abuse" he'd ever seen.
"From what we could see, we saw injuries that would indicate physical beatings, blunt force injuries from a striking device on the face, torso, back, upper and lower extremities. Impact injuries to the back of the head," Smith said.
"We believe that there was, for lack of a better term, some water torture involved," he added. "We believe the victim was choked under water, held under water for a long period of time. There was some burn torture involved, and the victim was found duct taped in positions that immobilized him."
The boy also was revealed to have been "mentally handicapped."
An attorney for 38-year-old Kaitlin Evans — the boy's biological mother — admitted that she had not done enough to save her child but denied that she had killed him. Evans accused one of the two other suspects of killing the boy.
The attorney for 23-year-old Nessa Keaney said he tried to administer "treatment" to the boy and claimed Keaney was the "least culpable" for the boy's death.
A detective testified that the third suspect, 33-year-old Kirby Rankin, admitted to his part in the abuse and had implicated Keaney and Evans as "active participants" in the abuse of the boy.
The victim's biological father also spoke in court.
"Willie was my life, and I trusted you to care for him. They kept him from me for the past nine months over lies," the father said.
A WXIX-TV news video described the suspects only as "people," and other outlets described them as women — but Keaney's arrest record lists him as a male, and Rankin also is listed as a male, while Evans is listed as a female.
Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Rodney Harris set each suspect's bond at $1.1 million — $1 million for murder and $100,000 for child endangering, WXIX said, adding that all three pleaded not guilty and are expected back in court later this month.
Officials apparently missed a chance to save the boy months prior to his death, when Rankin attacked a woman in a parking lot amid a driving dispute. The woman suffered fractured teeth, a concussion, a neck injury, and a torn meniscus — and asked police to charge Rankin with a felony. He was charged only with a misdemeanor and aggravated menacing.
"I asked to go to [the] grand jury. They refused. I kept being told because she was hit one time it wasn’t a felony, which is absolutely absurd," Lance Bunnell, the husband of the victim and a retired law enforcement captain, said.
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Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) condemned Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) on Sunday, characterizing him as a "danger" and calling for his resignation. Miller, who is running for re-election, has denied the allegations advanced by his ex-father-in-law and indicated that he will not scuttle his re-election campaign.
In May 2021, then-congressional candidate Miller got engaged to Emily Moreno, the daughter of then-Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. The lovers had met while working for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's failed presidential campaign in 2015 and got married in a civil ceremony on Aug. 17, 2022.
'I'm winning in November.'
In November 2023, the couple welcomed a daughter into the world, but by that time, their relationship was apparently already falling apart.
Miller — who years earlier was accused by ex-girlfriend and ex-White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham of physical abuse that the congressman's lawyer said "never happened" — filed for divorce in August 2024. According to a court filing, Emily Moreno Miller had moved with their daughter into a house earlier that month that had been allegedly purchased by a company owned by Sen. Moreno.
As the divorce proceedings grew uglier, a spokeswoman for Sen. Moreno stressed that "it's a private family matter" and the senator would not be making further comments.
The couple's divorce was finalized last year. However, their custody battle raged on, and just recently, a leftist site dug up allegations from court filings that paint Miller in a particularly unflattering light.
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Mother Jones, citing a trove of court filings and police reports obtained through public records requests, last month detailed allegations of verbal abuse by Miller as well as drug use and violent behavior against multiple individuals.
The leftist site highlighted records related to an investigation by Cuyahoga County’s Division of Child and Family Services into how the couple's daughter ended up with a broken collar bone — an injury that was not proven to have been the result of abuse. The records reportedly show that Emily Moreno told the detectives investigating the broken bone that Miller allegedly threw hot water at her in June 2024, pushed her, and put a gun to her head.
Mother Jones acknowledged that "some of the accusations contained in the records have not been conclusively proven by a court or law enforcement agency," and noted that Emily Moreno "never filed a police report against Miller for harm she says he inflicted on her."
On Sunday morning, Miller — who sued Emily Moreno earlier this year for alleged defamation and suggested in a recent interview that his ex-wife has untreated bipolar disorder and "sadly isn't all there" — shared a nearly 20-minute video to X where he not only rejects his characterization as an abusive husband and father but confronted and denied each of the key allegations raised against him.
Miller also made clear that he wasn't dropping out: "I'm not getting out of this race, and I'm winning in November."
The congressman concluded his video by emphasizing that he will "hold strong" and clear his name and urging skeptics to review the packet of court documents he also released on Sunday, which the congressman evidently regards as exculpatory.
'I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable.'
The summary accompanying the "evidence packet" claims that: "every abuse allegation that has been investigated has been resolved in Miller's favor"; "Moreno's own sworn and recorded statements directly contradict her abuse allegations," including her October 2024 statement that Miller had never harmed their daughter; "no court has ever found that Miller abused anyone"; and in the "'boiling water' incident," Miller had only sprayed his ex-wife with tap water from the sink sprayer.
Stefan Mychajliw, a spokesman for Emily Moreno, said in a statement, "It is shameful that Max Miller decided to go on a bizarre and lie-filled rant about his ex-wife to desperately try to save his political career. There is a documented trove of evidence that Miller has a history of violent and dangerous behavior and no amount of victim shaming will change that."
"Miller can lie and spin on X, but he cannot do so under oath in a court of law," added the spokesman. "We are confident that justice will prevail in court."
Sen. Moreno, among those not buying what his former son-in-law is selling, penned a lengthy social media post on Sunday, stating, "As a father and husband, I can tell you the last two years have been pure hell for my wife Bridget, our daughter Emily, me, and our entire family in the aftermath of Emily's divorce."
"It has been horrific to watch this play out in full public view, all while knowing an innocent two-year-old girl is caught in the middle," continued the senator. "Our priority has always been protecting our daughter and our granddaughter. Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private but Max Miller’s increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior has made that impossible."
Sen. Moreno noted further that "Max Miller needs serious psychological help. He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter."
According to the senator, Miller's character is unbecoming of an elected official, and "he should not serve in the House of Representatives."
Miller said in response to Sen. Moreno's post, "If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable. You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus. This is all political."
When asked over the weekend whether Miller should resign, President Donald Trump — who previously endorsed him — said, "Well, I'm going to look at it. I mean so far it's accusations."
A poll conducted in late June had Miller leading Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter by only one percentage point.
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Hanut Abdulle, 23, was arraigned in an Ohio court on Monday over murder charges stemming from the death of Bryce Persang in Sept. 2021.
Persang was found with a gunshot wound in the passenger seat of a silver Honda Fit behind an apartment complex in West Columbus. He was transported to a hospital but later died.
'We're not going to quit. You know, these fugitives take days off.'
After an investigation, Abdulle was indicted on numerous charges along with a co-defendant named Tahir Said.
Prosecutors said both Abdulle and Said fled the country after the shooting, but Abdulle was caught in Mogadishu, Somalia, and extradited to the U.S. He was placed into custody of Columbus police on Thursday, according to a Franklin County Sheriff's Office press release.
Abdulle had been charged in 2023 with one count of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated robbery, and two counts of murder. The four felony counts additionally carried gun charge specifications.
His bond was set at $2 million, and he is subject to GPS monitoring as well as passport surrender if he's released.
Law enforcement officials indicated that they are continuing to seek Said in Somalia.
"We're not going to quit. You know, these fugitives take days off. We don't take days off," said U.S. Marshal Michael Black of the southern district of Ohio.
Abdulle was apprehended through the cooperation of the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Somali Police Force.
"Bryce's life mattered, and our story is important," the victim's mother said in a news video report from WSYX-TV.
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Police said that the parents and grandparents of 16 children subjected them to severe neglect and horrible living conditions described as "pure evil."
Police executed a search warrant on Tuesday at about 10 a.m. at the residence on Ohmer Street in Hamden, according to a press release from Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.
'I can tell you this is pure evil. What we saw down here today is pure evil.'
Inside the home they found 16 children living in a 12-by-12-foot space, and they were surrounded by human feces.
The children ranged in age from a 1-year-old to an 18-year-old and included boys and girls. Two of the children were so injured, they were flown to level 1 trauma centers. Others were evaluated and treated at local hospitals.
"Most of the livestock was kept in better condition than the children," Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said.
Police arrested the parents and grandparents, who were identified as Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., and Christina Siders.
"The conditions these children lived in were horrific, and we are sickened by it. Fortunately, this tragic chapter has closed, but their recovery will take time," Cain added. "Our investigators will continue following the evidence wherever it leads."
The four suspects were all charged with 17 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony.
Wilson said the children were "literally about to fall through the floor" and that many of them were unable to speak. The 18-year-old was unable to spell her name.
"I've been doing these types of cases for a long time. I've spent a big portion of my career dedicated to prosecuting these types of cases, and I can tell you this is pure evil. What we saw down here today is pure evil," Wilson said.
The home was described as having an area of only 1,300 square feet with a total of five rooms, and it was owned by a trust of a deceased women.
Investigators said that the Siders moved between various properties in Ohio since 2008 and avoided establishing government and medical records during that time.
"This case continues to reveal the unimaginable conditions these children were forced to endure," Wilson added Wednesday.
"Our focus remains on protecting these children, supporting their recovery, and ensuring everyone responsible is held fully accountable under Ohio law," he continued.
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Investigators said the case did not appear to involve human trafficking, but was instead one of "prolonged and extreme interfamilial neglect and abuse."
The four suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges during a court hearing Wednesday, where they appeared via Zoom. A judge set cash bail for each at $300,000.
The Vinton County Prosecutor's Office may file further charges after more information is discovered. If convicted, the suspects could face up to 12 years in prison for each count, which would be 204 years.
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A federal appellate court ruled on Wednesday that Ohio can enforce its law requiring proof-of-citizenship to vote in the midterm elections. In a 2-1 decision, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals paused a preliminary injunction issued by Ohio-based Senior District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. last month. The Obama appointee’s order sought to block the Buckeye […]
A pair of election integrity groups are asking a federal appellate court to uphold Ohio’s law requiring proof-of-citizenship to vote, The Federalist has learned. “Ohio is right to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote,” Honest Elections Project (HEP) Executive Director Jason Snead told The Federalist. “This case is yet another baseless attempt by […]
We do not systematically verify citizenship at registration, we detect ineligible registrations mostly by accident, and when we do detect them, we usually decline to prosecute.
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