Jury trial set for mother of 5-year-old boy who fell from downtown KC high-rise apartment
A Jackson County judge has set the date for a jury trial for the mother of a 5-year-old boy who died after falling 17 stories from a downtown Kansas City high-rise apartment last November.
Corrinne O’Connor, 27, of Kansas City, appeared in court Monday for a pre-trial conference hearing before Jackson County Judge Kevin D. Harrell, according to court documents.
Harrell set the jury trial, expected to last five days, to begin on Jan. 13.
A grand jury earlier this month indicted O’Connor on one felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, leading to the death of Grayson O’Connor, according to court records. If found guilty, she faces a sentence ranging from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 30 years, or life in prison.
Prosecutors previously charged O’Connor with the same charge in December, but the records remained under seal until late January.
O’Connor has entered a not guilty plea.
Allegedly removed safety devices
A passerby found Grayson in an alley around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 27 near the Grand Boulevard Lofts at 10th Street and Grand Boulevard. When officers responded, they noticed a lone open window on the 17th floor and went upstairs.
They asked O’Connor where her son was, and she allegedly replied that he had gone out the window, according to court documents. She did not call 911 to report the fall.
O’Connor allegedly removed safety devices from the window of her apartment that would have prevented the window from opening more than a few inches, according to an eviction petition from the apartment building.
Neighbors, angered by the child’s death, told The Star there had been warning signs of neglect and abuse over the years the two lived in the building. Neighbors had reported the abuse to police and state officials.
Kansas City police were called to the apartment at least eight times since 2018, according to a Star analysis of police records, including a call for a general disturbance and another to check the welfare of a person who was threatening suicide.
Court records indicate that prosecutors and O’Connor’s attorney have exchanged information about witnesses and evidence they will present at trial.
Prosecutors have made available the Jackson County medical examiner’s file and DVD, Kansas City police dispatch logs, a CD of 911 dispatch and communications, and a blue-ray disc of Kansas City police lab photos.
O’Connor’s defense attorney, Anthony Vibbard, said in a court filing that O’Connor doesn’t intend to use expert witnesses in her defense. She also doesn’t intend to rely on a defense that she is not criminally responsible due to a mental disease or defect nor provide an alibi defense.
Vibbard indicated in the filing that he would provide a supplemental response if any of that changes as the case proceeds.
O’Connor remains in Jackson County jail on $100,000 bond.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed information to this story.
