Woman accused of killing Jefferson City boy denied bond
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A woman accused of killing a 4-year-old Jefferson City boy will remain jailed without bond, a judge ruled Friday.
Quatavia Givens is accused of killing Darnell Gray in October 2018. Last week, prosecutors said they upgraded the charges from second to first-degree murder due to new evidence.
Givens was indicted last month on first-degree murder, child abuse, child endangerment and abandoning a corpse. She had been out of bond for several months on previous charges related to Gray's death before being arrested after the new indictment last month. Gray's family told ABC 17 News after the hearing that they supported the decision to keep Givens in jail pending her trial.
"this past year we've all been just depressed we're angry we're frustrated, just so many different emotions going through us," said Billie Gray, Darnell's grandmother.
The grand jury indictment released Friday says Givens caused Gray's death by suffocation. The indictment says Givens failed to get Gray treatment for diarrhea on the day of his death that caused serious physical injury.
Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson said the suffocation revelation, which had not previously been made public, was based on new evidence in the case.
"She took my grandson, I mean he was only four years old," Billie said.
Darnell's father, aunt, uncle, grandmother and father's fiancee all testified at the bond hearing. They asked for no bond for Givens, and the father said he wants the death penalty to be considered.
Gray was first reported missing on October 25, 2018, by Givens, who was his caregiver at the time. Gray's body was then found in the 2100 block of Louis Circle in October 2018 after several days of searches involving police and volunteers.
According to court documents, Givens initially told police Gray wandered away or was taken.
Officials said the 4 year-old boy suffered multiple injuries by blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma before he died. Givens ended up telling police she "may have hit him wrong," once she was in custody.
Givens was later arrested in St. Charles, Missouri.
