Trio of women - two of them transgender - tortured boy, 7, to death - but remembered to take their pet for its vaccines as victim lay at death's door, prosecutors say

By JOE HUTCHISON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:23, 7 August 2026 | Updated: 21:29, 7 August 2026 A Cincinnati mother and two trans women tortured her young mentally challenged son to death, prosecutors have claimed. Kaitlin Evans, 38, Nessa Keaney, 23, and Kirby Rankin, 23, are facing charges of murder and child endangerment following the death of William Evans, 7.  The youngster was found dead inside a home in Oakley on Thursday, after being tortured inside the address, authorities claimed. An autopsy is still pending. The trio were co-parenting the youth prosecutors said in court this week after they were arraigned over the death of William, who was mentally handicapped. Hamilton County court records seen by the Daily Mail indicate that both Keaney and Rankin are biological males. Evans is the boy's biological mother.  According to WLWT, prosecutors said in court that there was evidence to show that William was being abused for over two months by the trio.  After police entered the property, prosecutors said they found him in a closet where he had been bound and duct-taped.  It was claimed that despite neglecting and torturing the boy, they managed to take a dog of theirs to a vet to be vaccinated the day before his death.  Kaitlin Evans, pictured here, is the biological mother of William Evans who was found dead inside the home in Cincinnati this week  Hamilton County court records seen by the Daily Mail indicate that both Keaney, right, and Rankin, left, are biological males  Investigators said the boy suffered visible injuries which included 'indicated physical beatings' over his body.  He also suffered impact injuries to the back of his head and had been water tortured for a period of time and was badly burned, investigators said.   An attorney for Evans claimed that she did not cause the death of her son, saying that one of the others caused his death but did not name either Rankin or Keaney. Her attorney did say in court that she had failed to save her son, and pleaded with the judge for a $250,000 bond. Prosecutors asked for a $1 million bond on the murder charge and a further $500,000 on a child endangerment charge. The judge sided with the prosecution.  The boy's other biological parent, who was not identified, was given the chance to address her in court, telling her: 'I trusted you.' According to Fox56, they also said that William had been kept away from them 'over lies'.  A lawyer for Keaney said she had failed to 'administer treatment' for the boy which was allegedly 'caused by somebody else.' William also suffered impact injuries to the back of his head and had been water tortured for a period of time and was badly burned  It was claimed that despite neglecting and torturing the boy, they managed to take a pet of theirs to a vet to be vaccinated the day before his death Her attorney requested a $200,000 bond, prosecutors pushed back saying that Keaney failed to inform the authorities of the abuse. Her bond was set at $1 million.  Attorneys for Rankin requested an evaluation, saying she suffered from 'documented serious mental health issues'. The judge agreed, with Rankin to be back in court for the results at the beginning of next month.  A detective who was part of the investigation said that Rankin disclosed her own involvement in the abuse and implicated the two others as being involved.  Her bond was set at $1 million on the murder charge, with another $100,000 secured for the child endangerment charge.  A detective said the case was 'one of the most disturbing examples of child abuse' that he had ever seen in his two decades of work.  The trio are next back in court on August 17.