Parents out on bond in child’s fatal fall, as tenants seek to sue Independence Towers owner
.jpeg "A 3-year-old boy died after falling eight stories out of an apartment window on July 29 at the high-rise Independence Towers, 728 N. Jennings Road in Independence. The building has been embroiled in controversy for months, after tenants alleged the landlord was not maintaining a safe environment in the building.")
The parents charged in the fatal fall of their 3-year-old son from an apartment window at Independence Towers late last month have been released on bond, court records show.
Moses Lee Bass, 30, was released Tuesday and Destiny Leann Randle, 28, was released Saturday after they each posted a $10,000 bond, according to Jackson County jail records. Both bonds were paid by a Kansas City nonprofit organization, Randle and an attorney for Bass said at their Wednesday hearings.
Both Bass and Randle appeared in court at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence. Judge Kenneth Garrett III issued a continuance on their preliminary hearing, allowing the state until August 26 to either gather witnesses or initiate a grand jury trial.
Having not been assigned a public defender yet, Randle represented herself, conferring in whispers with family in the hallway outside the courtroom.
Prosecutors have charged Bass and Randle each with one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors allege the two failed to protect the toddler from substantial risk, resulting in the death of the child. Other children in the home were placed in state custody and have since been reunited with family.
The boy fell from the window sometime before 10:05 a.m. July 29 at Independence Towers, 728 N. Jennings Road. The child has not been named by officials.
“We are not releasing the name yet, this is still an open investigation for our investigations unit,” Officer Kelly Rupert, a spokeswoman for the Independence Police Department, said Wednesday. She said she would provide the name when it is able to be released.
A family member has identified the child by his first name, Tidus.
Firefighters found the child lying in the grass outside the building, unconscious but breathing. He was rushed to a local hospital and immediately transferred to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. The child was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m.
Bass allegedly told police that he had known the window was a safety hazard since June 2023, and the children had been able to bypass the locks and get out the window since December, according to court documents. Bass also allegedly told police that he knew one of the children could remove a pole they used to secure the window.
Randle allegedly told police that for months prior to the fatal fall, she tried to get the window fixed by the building’s management, according to court documents. She allegedly said that the window had been in that condition since they moved in approximately a year ago, and that she was concerned one of her children would fall out.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Bass requested to be allowed to attend Tidus’ funeral, which would put him in the same room as Randle and his other children — a meeting that would violate the conditions of his bond.
The request was denied, though Bass’ attorneys may be able to file a separate motion trying again before the funeral.
Tenants seek to join lawsuit
Earlier this year, Fannie Mae filed a lawsuit against the building’s owner, 728 N Jennings RD Partners, LLC, seeking an emergency appointment of a receiver. Fannie Mae contended that the building’s owner failed to maintain the building according to their loan agreement.
In May, a Jackson County judge appointed property management company Trigild Inc. as receiver of the property.
The building’s owner has since filed a counterclaim against Fannie Mae, accusing it of breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing.
Meanwhile, a tenant, Anna Heetmann, is asking the court for permission to intervene in the dispute on behalf tenants of the building. Heetmann contends that the building’s owner has “consistently, repeatedly, and without any care or concern” breached the lease agreements of more than 50 other tenants in the buildings.
Heetmann contends that 728 N Jennings RD Partners, LLC, owned by Parker Webb, breached the agreements by:
- Failing to provide adequate heat for the tenants during this past winter.
- Failing to provide adequate hot water for the tenants during this past spring.
- Failing to provide adequate cool air conditioning during the last several years.
- Failing to provide a clean, safe physical environment for the tenants, including but not limited to mold, rodent and pest infestation, water infiltration and degradation of the walls, ceilings and floors.
- Failing to address tenant complaints and concerns timely and effectively.
- Failing to provide a home for the tenants that complies with the owner’s duty of habitability.
Heetmann contends the court should allow her to intervene because neither Fannie Mae nor the building’s owner have the ability or legal right to protect her and the other tenants’ interests and tenant rights.
The building’s owner has filed a response in opposition asking that Heetmann’s request be denied.
Among other things, the building’s owner contends Heetmann has no ownership interest in the property, “merely a leasehold interest.”
“Her ambiguous and unsupported claim to have any such an interest in this receivership action is beyond conjecture,” the response said. “No such interest exists either as a matter of law or equity.”
The building’s owner also contend that even if Heetmann had a protectable interest in the property, she has not proven that her interest can’t be protected by Fannie Mae or the building owner.
The Star’s Noelle Alviz-Gransee contributed reporting.
This story was originally published August 7, 2024 at 1:02 PM.
