Woman sentenced to 31 years in killing of 3-year-old Olivia Jansen in Kansas City, Kansas
A 35-year-old woman has been sentenced to spend a little more than 31 years in a Kansas prison for her role in the killing of 3-year-old Olivia Jansen in Kansas City, Kansas.
Jacqulyn Kirkpatrick was handed the sentence Monday afternoon in Wyandotte County District Court a little more than one month after she pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and interfering with a law enforcement investigation. She was charged in the killing of the child in July 2020 alongside Howard Jansen III, Kirkpatrick’s then-boyfriend and the girl’s father.
The body of Olivia Jansen was discovered by authorities in a shallow grave after a brief and large-scale effort by local and federal law enforcement to find the child after her father reported her missing on July 10, 2020. He told police at the time that he had woken up around 6:30 a.m. that morning to find that his daughter was gone.
The child was found dead hours later in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Steele Road, roughly a mile away from her father’s home. A medical examiner’s report later showed that she had signs of physical abuse, including a small cut on the back of her head, and died of a brain bleed.
Kirkpatrick and Howard Jansen were arrested shortly after the discovery.
The death also touched off criticisms of the Kansas Department of Children and Family Services after it came to light that other family of the girl had raised concerns with the agency about her wellbeing shortly before she was killed.
Howard Jansen is being held in Wyandotte County jail. He is scheduled to stand trial in May for charges that include first-degree murder.
