Jury trial dates set for woman accused of killing 4-year-old boy

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Dates for a jury trial have been scheduled for the woman accused of killing a toddler.

Quatavia Givens, 30, is charged with first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, abuse or neglect of a child, and abandonment of a corpse in relation to the death of 4-year-old Darnell Gray in 2018.

Trial dates were scheduled Monday at the Cole County Courthouse. Jury selection from Pulaski County will begin 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, and is expected to be completed Sept. 8. The trial will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11 at the Cole County Courthouse.

Givens -- who has been previously described as a caretaker -- was accused of killing Darnell Gray in October 2018. Court documents say she initially reported Gray as being abducted or that he had run away from her house in the 1100 block of Buena Vista Street in Jefferson City.

The boy was missing for six days before he was located but local law enforcement in the 2100 block of Louis Circle in Jefferson City.

A Grand Jury's indictment charged Givens with first-degree murder when it was revealed that Gray had been suffocated.

A vigil was held for Gray this past October.