A court appearance for the woman charged in the death of a
4-year-old Jefferson City boy has been pushed back once again.
Quatavia Givens is charged with second-degree murder, child abuse, or neglect and endangering the welfare of a child in
the death of Darnell Gray.
A
trial for Givens was originally set for July 13 and was expected to last five days however, due to COVID-19 limitations the trial was canceled until another date is set. Givens was set to appear in court on July 28 for a criminal setting however, that has now been pushed back to September 22.
Online court records state the case has been continued because the court is "awaiting the report of status of
jury trials in Johnson County." This is due to Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem granting Givens a change of venue. Givens' jury will come from Johnson County.
Givens has been out on bond since Oct. 9, 2019, just days after Beetem ordered Givens' release on conditions. Givens was charged with second-degree murder a little more than two weeks after her release however, no warrant was issued.
According to online court records from Tuesday, Givens is "in compliance."
Back in October, Cole County prosecutor Locke Thompson said he had been told
Givens' home plan would be in the St. Louis area.
"We're working hard to make sure we get this case tried as soon as possible," Thompson said during an interview in Oct. 2019.
According to the order, Givens had to post a $5,000 cash or surety bond and keep a GPS monitor on her until further order from the court. Givens must also abide by the following:
- Contact pre-trial services office weekly as directed
- Remain at the address given to pre-trial services and be permitted to travel to and from court
- Pay for any private supervision services which may be required
- May not live in home with or be in the presence of minor children who aren't her own. Any in-person contact with her own child will be permitted only to the extent it is allowed by the child's legal guardian
- No direct or indirect contact with Darnell Gray's family
- Return to court for all scheduled appearances unless excused
The order said the court reviewed the conditions of the previous bond set at $100,000 cash-only, which Givens couldn't post due to being unemployed. The order also states that Givens' flight risk is low given her socioeconomic status.