Overland Park parents charged with murder after death of malnourished toddler
Johnson County prosecutors have charged the parents of a 1-year-old toddler who died in May 2023 with murder, alleging the child was malnourished and died due to neglect.
Kevin Scott Martenia, 31, and Alexis Siera Williams, 30, of Overland Park, were both charged in Johnson County District Court in March with three felonies in relation to two child victims: the child who died, identified as W.J.A.M., and another child between the ages of 6 and 18. Both adults were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated endangering of a child and abuse of a child.
An autopsy determined the deceased child, who weighed 11.7 pounds at the time of her death, died from a telescoping intestine, which caused a bowel obstruction. The child was in the 0 percentile for head size and weight and was at .2 percentile for height, an Overland Park police sergeant wrote in an affidavit released this week.
X-rays showed malnutrition in the child, and the girl’s cause of death was ruled to be malnutrition and dehydration because of neglect, according to court documents. Her manner of death was ruled to be homicide.
Both Martenia and Williams remain in custody at the New Century Adult Detention Center in Johnson County on $1 million bond, according to jail records.
An attorney for Martenia declined to comment on the allegations. An attorney for Williams did not respond to a request for comment.
Police were initially called to an Overland Park apartment on May 22, 2023 — three days after W.J.A.M.’s first birthday — for a non-breathing child. Shortly after law enforcement arrived, medical personnel pronounced the girl dead, according to the affidavit. Initially, officers reported that the child appeared tiny and that they could see her ribs.
Martenia told police he had put the girl to sleep the night before, and in the morning walked in and found the child face down in a bed with a teddy bear on top of her.
“Martenia said he was confused because he did not know why or how W.J.A.M. would have died,” the sergeant wrote. “Martenia said W.J.A.M. did not have any medical problems to his knowledge.”
Williams told police that there had been no falls, injuries or issues and that the child had a “clean organic diet” and “made it a point to mention food is not restricted,” the sergeant wrote. She further told law enforcement she did not know the child’s pediatrician and did not know the last time she had been seen by a doctor.
Two other children were found in the home. In an interview at a child advocacy center, a child said her father had told her W.J.A.M. had suffocated and said her parents had told her “police were going to talk to her and take her away if she says something bad.”
A child described “whoopings” by both of her parents, including Williams using a curtain rod that broke because of an especially hard strike. Court documents describe strikes from Martenia using a belt, sandal, rope and charger.
A child was seen at Children’s Mercy Hospital and was assessed to have been abused physically, according to court documents.
