Kansas City Police Responded to 5-Year-Old’s Apartment on at Least 8 Occasions Since 2018
At least eight Kansas City police calls were made to the apartment of 5-year-old Grayson O’Connor prior to his body was discovered in the alley behind the downtown high-rise where he resided, according to records obtained by The Star and information from neighbors.
The boy and his mother were residing on the 17th floor of the Grand Boulevard Lofts when he died on November 27. Grayson died after falling from an open window, according to police, although the reason of his death was still under investigation Tuesday.
The inquiry has been classed as a suspicious death by Kansas City police, who suspect the boy died as a consequence of child negligence or homicide. The exact circumstances of his demise are unknown.
A police spokesman, Sgt. Jake Becchina, said in an email Tuesday that no case file had been presented to prosecutors for consideration of criminal charges.
The Star’s attempts to contact the boy’s mother were futile. According to neighbors, she hasn’t been seen at the building since she was brought to the hospital last week.
Neighbors told The Star that the boy’s mother stayed in the building for years, with one recalling her residing there when she was pregnant with Grayson. He was born in the month of December of 2017. According to public documents and Facebook posts, the mother and son have lived in the building since at least 2019.
On Tuesday, Kansas City police released a complete record of calls to the 1006 Grand Blvd. apartment building between May 2017 and November 30.
According to police records, the most recent call to Grayson’s apartment occurred on January 14. It is described as a disturbance and a standby to maintain order.
Police were also called to the residence in November 2021 to check on the welfare of an emotionally disturbed person who was threatening suicide.
Police were called to five further recorded disturbances between January 2019 and October 2020. Officers were dispatched to undertake a residential check on Feb. 21, 2018, the earliest call listed for The Star’s requested time frame.
Records obtained by The Star contain little information about the events that precipitated the calls or a description of how they were resolved, other than a list of incidents in which a report was taken.
Many of the other calls listed in the data request just include the apartment building’s address and no apartment numbers. Furthermore, calls that “involve law enforcement sensitive information” and fall beyond the scope of mandated disclosure under Missouri’s Sunshine Law were not included in the list provided to The Star.
The medical call during which Grayson was discovered dead in the alley is missing from the list of calls for service to the building. One of the neighbors who talked with The Star recalled an incident involving Grayson’s apartment on a day in September that was not included in the police records.
The latest information regarding police activity at the Kansas City apartment building where the youngster lived comes after multiple neighbors have expressed concerns about Grayson over the years to The Star.
Concerns included a shortage of food in the residence, loud and aggressive ranting directed toward Grayson, and instances in which he was left alone. One neighbor claimed to have seen bruises on him that she felt were the result of parental abuse.
Meanwhile, the boy’s untimely death has shaken a close-knit community of building residents who say they looked out for and cared for Grayson, along with others across Kansas City. A memorial service for Grayson was held over the weekend near where he was discovered dead.
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