Months after 13-year-old Jayden Robker was found dead in pond, police say no foul play
Nine months after 13-year-old Jayden Robker was found dead in a pond near his home in Kansas City, police have concluded a multi-agency investigation into his death and said foul play was not a factor.
No other details, including Robker’s cause of death, were included in the news release Monday from the Gladstone Police Department.
Robker’s body was found March 10 in a wooded area near North Broadway and North Englewood Road, more than a month after he had been reported missing from his Northland neighborhood.
Family said he left home after school to ride his electric skateboard and never returned.
In November 2021, Jayden reported abuse by his stepfather to Gladstone police, leading them to contact the Missouri Department of Social Services, according to a report obtained by The Star.
Jayden’s mother refused services from DSS, and his stepfather wouldn’t cooperate with the agency, which contacted the family at least twice since 2021, according to records obtained by The Star.
Both times, DSS closed investigations into Jayden’s allegations of abuse, saying he had been living with other family members by the time each case concluded.
Records also showed that, around the same time Jayden went missing, another child accused the stepfather, Eric Givens, of abuse.
DSS records also summarized communication with the medical examiner’s office, who told DSS officials in March 2023 that Jayden’s autopsy showed no signs of trauma.
Jayden had a small hematoma on the back of his head, which officials said may have been caused by a fall if he tried to walk or skateboard across ice in the area. X-Rays found no healing fractures or other internal damage.
Jayden was found wearing the same clothes he was reportedly wearing the day he went missing. The medical examiner’s office told DSS they didn’t know how long he had been in the water, but said it’s possible he had been in the pond since he first went missing.
Jenna Thompson, Anna Spoerre and Katie Moore contributed reporting.
