Kenneth R. Davis, 31, Springfield, was charged Tuesday, Aug. 28 in Dallas County Circuit Court with the second-degree murder of two-year-old Kinzlea Kilgore on or about May 12. Davis’ bond was set at $2 million.
Dallas County Prosecuting Attorney Barbara J. Viets charged that Davis caused the death of the young girl by hitting her in the head with a blunt object, and Kinzlea died as a result of injuries sustained from this conduct.
“An individual convicted and sentenced for this offense shall not be eligible for parole until 85 percent of the sentence is served,” according to the complaint.
In his probable cause statement, Lt. Tony Kinser of the Buffalo Police Department said that on Sunday, May 13, Officer Justin Bartee responded to 647 E. Main Street in Buffalo to assist medical personnel with a two-year-old, unconscious female. Officer Bartee arrived and medical personnel were performing CPR on Kinzlea Kilgore.
Officer Bartee observed severe bruising to the child’s face. When interviewed by police at the scene, Kenneth Davis stated that Kinzlea was left unsupervised in the cab of a parked 1985 S10 pickup truck, with the passenger and driver’s door shut and both windows in the down position, according to the report.
Davis said he and Sierra Barrett, Kinzlea’s mother, were helping a friend move from the residence. When he heard a loud scream, he went outside of the residence, and he observed Kinzlea on the ground driveway, attempting to stand up, he said. According to the report, Davis said he picked up Kinzlea and took her into the residence where he cleaned the gravel from her face. He said he washed Kinzlea’s head and face with water. Davis said that approximately three minutes before medical personnel arrived, Kinzlea quit breathing, the report said.
The child was airlifted to Cox South Hospital in Springfield and pronounced dead on arrival by Cox staff.
Lt. Kinser said he attended the autopsy for Kinzlea at Cox South. The medical examiner said the injuries were not consistent to the story given by Davis of how she was injured and ultimately died. Lt. Kinser said he observed Kinzlea’s scalp to have a large void or separation from her skull and obvious blood between her scalp and skull. The official cause of death to Kinzlea on the death certificate is homicide.
A search warrant was obtained and executed for the 1985 pickup truck. Sgt. Trammel of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Sgt. Duane Hamilton of the Buffalo Police Department executed and processed the vehicle. Stains field-tested as blood on the passenger side of the bench seat, underneath the glove box, on the back window, on the driver’s side door and window, and on the passenger side door. Cast off blood was noted on the interior ceiling of the vehicle, possibly from Kinzlea’s head and face being struck by an unidentified object.
Lt. Kinser said that on Thursday, May 17 he interviewed Kenneth Davis at the Greene County Sheriff’s Department. During the interview Davis told Kinser the same sequence of events as he told Officer Bartee, the report said. Davis said he was alone with Kinzlea from 9 a.m. until approximately 3 p.m. He denied causing the death of Kinzlea.
Lt. Kinser interviewed Kenneth Plumb, who said he lent Davis a trailer on May 12 and he had seen Davis and Kinzlea at Davis’ residence in Springfield a few hours before the child’s death. Plumb showed Lt. Kinser his call log on his cell phone. At 9:55 p.m. Plumb called Davis and asked where is the trailer. Davis told him he was almost done. At 10:42 p.m. Plumb called Davis to inquire about his trailer again, but before Plumb could ask, Davis said Kinzlea fell and she wasn’t breathing.
According to the report, Kenneth Plumb and Patricia Plumb drove to Buffalo. Patricia Plumb told Lt. Kinser she found Kinzlea naked on the living room floor, with a brown shirt covering her body. Patricia Plumb said Kinzlea’s fingers were blue and her body felt cold. Patricia Plumb told Lt. Kinser that Kinzlea was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse. She said the 911 operator instructed her on how to start CPR and she did until medial personnel arrived.
The report said that video surveillance shows Kenneth Davis driving through the intersection of Main and Maple Street at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. Cell phone records show that Sierra Barrett is at a residence in Springfield at 10:30 p.m., and video surveillance shows Barrett is at a gas station at the intersection of Kearney and Grant in Springfield at 10:42 p.m. Kenneth Davis had care, custody and control of Kinzlea at the time of her death at 647 Main Street in Buffalo, according to Lt. Kinser.
Davis also was previously charged on June 30 in Greene County with abuse or neglect of a child, which the court said caused serious emotional or physical injury. His bond in Greene County was set at $100,000.
The Dallas County Prosecutor was heavily criticized for months for not filing charges sooner.
In a press release Tuesday, Prosecutor Viets explained the case from her point of view. The press release follows:
“On May 16th, 2018, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was made aware of an investigation stemming from an incident on May 12, when the Buffalo Police Department had arrested and had in custody another person for the crime.
“The Prosecuting Attorney then advised the police officer that at that time there was not sufficient evidence to file a charge and that further investigation was needed. The prosecuting attorney then assisted in procuring search warrants for evidence. In the weeks and months to follow, reports were received outlining the facts as they were discovered during the investigation. Additional reports have now been received to establish probable cause, allowing for the filing of this charge.
“The Prosecuting Attorney’s office appreciates the patience of the family and the communithy as all have waited for the necessary reports that offer facts which allow for the filing of appropriate charges for the offense. We recognize that false information and the resulting emotions were played out in public and on social media, but this office and law enforcement are governed by Missouri Statutes and Missouri Supreme Court Rules that preclude any public release of information pertaining to the investigation during the course of said invesitgation, and until charges are made public.
“Any prior release of false information was not from this office. Additionally, as said public activities and social media information were exposed to the public, this office was not allowed to comment at the time. It is our most sincere request that the public look to facts available and consider the source of the information as these cases play out in the public arena that we are now widely exposed to. This office, too, seeks justice for K.K. [Kinzlea Kilgore].