‘Just not right’: KC mother charged in son’s killing had troubled past, family says
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Child’s tragic death
Jackson County prosecutors have charged 35-year-old Tasha L. Haefs in the death of her 6-year-old son, who Kansas City police found decapitated in a residence late at night on Feb. 15. The details of the child’s homicide are grisly.
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Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Relatives of Tasha L. Haefs, the Kansas City mother accused of killing her 6-year-old son this week, say she spent years working through drug addiction, depression and severe trauma.
But from their perspective, she seemed relatively fine to them in the days leading up to the homicide. And they were shocked to learn the horrific details of the crimes leveled against her after police found her covered in blood in the kitchen of her rental home.
“She was a very loving person, a very loving mother. And then for it to, you know, spiral to this … It’s just not right,” said Javonne Crittendon, of Sioux City, Iowa, a close family friend and godmother to her three children.
Haefs, 35, was charged this week with first-degree murder in the killing of her youngest son, 6-year-old Karvel Stevens. She was arraigned Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court and a judge has ordered that she undergo a mental health evaluation.
The charges against Haefs stem from the gruesome scene police officers were called to late Tuesday night in Kansas City’s Noble and Gregory Ridge neighborhood on the southeast side. Police forced entry into Haefs’ home to find the decapitated body of her son. Authorities allege she admitted to killing him in a bathtub.
Cherie Haefs, Haefs’ mother, told The Star her daughter had in recent weeks been dealing with family strains in Kansas City. She said she believes her daughter was recently experiencing hallucinations and breaks with reality.
Cherie Haefs, also of Sioux City, said she spoke with her daughter’s boyfriend, who is the father of her two eldest grandchildren, by phone on Friday from the halfway house where he is currently living. She said they’re working to find legal help for Haefs in the criminal case.
“He enlightened me with a lot of problems that Tasha was having that he was helping her with,” Cherie Haefs said, adding that she had trekked down to Kansas City on other occasions when her daughter had difficulty describing “what was happening with her thoughts.”
‘The devil was trying to attack her’
On Tuesday at 11:45 p.m. a report was made to police by a woman who claimed over the phone that “the devil was trying to attack her,” according to a court record. Then the line went dead. Kansas City police officers were sent to the 7300 block of Indiana Avenue to check on the caller.
Officers got there to find blood leading from the sidewalk up to the door of a single-family home with light-brown siding and white trim. More blood was on the front screen door.
Police were aware that three children were associated with the residence. A burglary had been reported there only five days before, drawing a response from Kansas City police.
As they approached the house that night, officers could hear a woman singing from within. They knocked on the door and the singing grew louder.
That’s when one peered inside and saw the severed head of a small child near the front threshold. Based on the belief that the woman and other children could be in danger, officers breached the rear door to gain entry, court records state.
Inside they found Haefs on the kitchen floor, wearing a black dress, with blood on her hands and feet. Beyond the kitchen was the head of Karvel Stevens. His body was nearby. After searching the home, police located a dead dog in the basement. Its head was also severed.
Haefs was arrested that morning without incident and taken to the seventh floor of Kansas City police headquarters for questioning. A detective wrote in an affidavit that Haefs was offered food and water, and agreed to speak with police without the presence of a lawyer.
During that conversation, police allege she provided a detailed statement in which she admitted to killing her son in the bathtub and then decapitating him.
Evidence removed from the home, following the execution of a search warrant, included a knife, knife handle and screwdriver found on the dining room table. A second knife was found in the basement.
Police also collected DNA from Haefs to compare with evidence found at the scene. During her time in custody detectives noted she had scratches and lacerations on her hands, and a puncture wound to her right thigh.
‘A time machine’
Cherie Haefs said her relationship with her daughter has mostly been over the phone as they live hundreds of miles apart. She said she has at some points seen her daughter display warning signs that something was wrong, though she does not believe she ever sought mental health counseling. And in the aftermath of Karvel’s death she’s begun to hear more stories that have raised alarm.
She recently heard from her older grandson that Tasha Haefs had shown up to a Kansas City relative’s house. She heard her daughter was talking about “a straight-up devil house” that was “full of devil” and yelling at a relative about putting her and the children in a bad situation.
“Her son was standing there. She looked straight at him and said, ‘Like this devil,’” Cherie Haefs said.
Tasha Haefs has spent most of her life in Sioux City. Her relationship with her biological family was fractured at several points.
Her mother, Cherie Haefs, 64, spent time in federal prison when her daughter was young. The elder Haefs was convicted in federal court in 2001 of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and sentenced to nearly five years. The elder Haefs also spent time in Iowa jails for earlier drug offenses.
For a time Tasha Haefs lived with her father, who declined to be interviewed for this story. She also lived in Iowa’s foster care system, moving from place to place, until she came to live with Javonne Crittendon’s family.
Crittendon said she and Haefs first met in sixth grade and they attended school together. Her family took Haefs in as their own, and she has always considered her a sister.
“She’s always just felt alone with her family and felt like black sheep of her family,” Crittendon said.
All of Tasha Haefs’ children were born in Iowa. The two eldest were from the same father, who has spent the past 11 years in federal prison. Karvel’s father is also in prison.
Crittendon said Haefs has almost always been a single mother. In recent years she decided to move to Kansas City to be closer to the extended family of her two elder children, Crittendon said.
Tasha Haefs also had earlier brushes with the law. Her court records in Iowa show she pleaded guilty to traffic offenses and other drug possession charges. Family say Haefs uses marijuana and has struggled in the past with methamphetamine addiction.
There were occasions Crittendon recalled where Haefs had told her she was hearing voices when on drugs. But in recent years she had worked to keep clean for herself and her kids, Crittendon said.
Crittendon also said there was a point in time where Haefs faced the possibility of losing parental privileges in Iowa after the state’s family services department became involved. But in recent years, Crittendon said Haefs has been able to maintain a stable job and provide for her children.
The last time Crittendon saw them all in person was in September when Crittendon came to visit for her birthday. But she frequently hears from the kids and sees them over FaceTime. Earlier this month, Crittendon said she could see during a call that the kids were in the background relaxing before bedtime.
“I just wish I had a time machine to go back, to wipe all this away or notice certain signs or whatever else that day,” Crittendon said.
The news from Kansas City has been difficult for Crittendon to fathom. She has never believed Haefs would harm her own children. And she wonders if Haefs is even aware of everything that’s transpired. If the sister she has known for 20 years comes to realize what happened, Crittendon said, “it’s going to be the worst nightmare of her life.”
Looking forward, Crittendon said she hopes that Haefs’ two other children will be able to get the help they need to live normal lives after everything that’s happened. She says she wants to be there for them — and for Haefs, too.
“I’m sad that it’s come to this. I’m always going to be there for the kids, as I always have,” Crittendon said.
“I’m not turning my back on her, the kids, none of that shit. Because we all go through things. And the Tasha I know would have never in her rightful mind touched a hair on that little boy’s head.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, call the Missouri Crisis line at 1-888-279-8188 or visit mentalhealthkc.org.
This story was originally published February 19, 2022 at 8:34 AM.
