New judge appointed to oversee trial of a Jefferson City woman accused of killing a child

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A new judge will oversee the case against a Jefferson City woman accused of killing a four-year-old boy.

Quatavia Givens was indicted in August on first-degree murder and child abuse charges, as well as abandoning a corpse. This is in connection with the death of four-year-old Darnell Gray, who was found dead in 2018.

Judge William Hickles will now preside over the case.

He works in the 25th Judicial Circuit, which serves Maries, Phelps and Pulaski counties.

Prosecutors filed the motion for a new judge after all judges in Cole County either recused themselves or were disqualified from hearing the case.