DETROIT (WXYZ) — The father of a 9-month-old baby that he allegedly killed is facing charges in her murder. The Child Protective Services supervisor involved in her case has been fired.
The family says the system failed their little girl and their road to justice is just beginning.
It has been a long nine months for the family of 9-month-old Kinsley Evans including her grandmother Asia Nelson. Last June, Kinsley’s mother, who was too traumatized to speak to us on camera, wanted to give the baby's father an opportunity to see her, despite him not having custody.
It’s a decision the entire family now regrets.
“My daughter had let her go with her father for a couple hours. We came back to pick her up, he wouldn’t give her to us," Nelson said.
Nelson and her daughter begged and pleaded for the father of the child, 24-year-old Charles Evans, to return Kinsley, even involving Detroit police and Child Protective Services, which both allegedly said the baby was safe and there was nothing they could do.
“Every time the police went in there and looked at her, they said nothing was wrong with Kinsley," Nelson said. “I called CPS personally myself, tried to get them to go out there.”
The family continuously went to the residence of Charles Evans to demand her return, but he refused. Then after three weeks, Nelson received a call from police to head to a local hospital. That's when they learned Kinsley had died.
"I can’t even walk through a baby section in a store without breaking down in public. I don’t even want to hold anybody else's baby or be around little kids. It’s sad," Nelson said.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Charles Evans in connection with the homicide of Kinsley and he was arrested on Saturday. He's facing felony murder and first-degree child abuse charges.
In a statement, Worthy said:
“Baby Kinsley lived a very short life of pain. The alleged facts are unbelievably tragic in this case. The injuries inflicted on this nine-month-old baby are too numerous to fathom.”
The CPS supervisor involved in her case was placed on administrative leave last June, however, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services now confirms that employee has been let go. Their statement is below:
"The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services always takes swift and appropriate action whenever there’s a child death. When a child dies, the department must and does review any previous contact with Children’s Protective Services so that we can grow as advocates for children and families and hold ourselves accountable for doing everything in power to protect children. While the department cannot discuss specifics of the case, a supervisor involved in this case has been dismissed following a department investigation."
Charles Evans' probable cause conference is scheduled for March 27 and the preliminary examination is scheduled for April 3.
