Father, woman charged with murder in killing of girl, 3, in Kansas City, Kansas: DA
The father of a 3-year-old girl whose remains were discovered Friday and his girlfriend have been charged with felony murder and other crimes in her death, Wyandotte County’s district attorney said Sunday.
The girl’s father, Howard Jansen III, 29, and his girlfriend, Jacqulyn Kirkpatrick, 33, were also charged with aggravated endangering a child and criminal desecration in the death of Olivia Ann Jansen, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree announced.
“This is a loss for our community,” he told reporters. “I implore everyone in this community to stand with this family as they go through one of the most tumultuous times, a moment that nobody in life should ever have to go through.”
Olivia was killed on or between Thursday and Friday, according to charging documents. Authorities have not released how she died.
She was reported missing Friday morning by her father from his home in the 4400 block of Gibbs Road in Kansas City, Kansas. He allegedly told police he last saw her about 11 p.m. Thursday, saying he woke up at 6:30 a.m. and discovered she was gone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation joined in the more than nine-hour search for her.
But about 5:30 p.m. Friday, police found a child’s body they believed to be Olivia’s in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Steele Road. Later that night, her father was arrested.
On Saturday, more than 100 mourners, including family and friends, gathered at the corner of Steele Road and South 34th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, to honor the girl. They left dozens of stuffed animals.
In a statement Sunday, Laura Howard, secretary of Kansas’ Department for Children and Families, said her agency was working alongside law enforcement in the case. She said the community should know her agency has a process for reviewing “critical incidents” to identify “any agency or contractor policy or procedural issue” that needs addressing.
“My heart aches for Olivia, her family and the Kansas City community,” Howard said. “The death of a child is a tragedy.”
Outside the courthouse Sunday, dozens of people, including Olivia’s grandparents, gathered with signs that called for justice.
“I want them to pay for what they did to her,” Elisabeth Jansen, Olivia’s grandmother, said of the allegations.
She held a sign that showed Olivia donning a pink bow.
“Fly high princess,” it read.
Kirkpatrick and Howard Jansen III were being held at the county jail on $500,000 bonds, Dupree said.
The investigation into Olivia’s death is ongoing. Dupree called on anyone with information about her death to call the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department to make sure “that we fight together for justice for this child.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2020 at 7:37 PM.
