Father speaks out after 14-year-old allegedly shot and killed by his mother
31 January 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — The mother of a 5-year-old boy who died after police say he fell from a downtown Kansas City apartment building window now faces a criminal charge in his death.
Jackson County prosecutors charged Corrinne O’Connor, 27, with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Grayson O’Connor was found dead on Nov. 27 near 10th Street and Grand.
The felony charge accuses her of knowingly acting in a manner that created a substantial risk to the life, body, and health of Grayson.
Charging documents say investigators at the scene saw an open window on the top floor of the Grand Boulevard Lofts apartment building, noting it was the only open window on the entire wall.
Investigators responded to the 17th floor and found Corrinne O’Connor inside and lying in front of the open window. Court documents say when they asked her where her son was, she said something to the effect of “went out the window.” They say she didn’t call 911, and Grayson was found by someone walking out of the building.
Investigators spoke with an apartment manager who asked if the window was partially open or completely open, saying a second set of stops should have prevented anyone from completely opening the window.
They noted during the investigation that the stops were removed from both sides of the window. They also detailed unsanitary conditions inside the apartment, alluded to in an eviction notice, that included trash and food scattered throughout the space and piles of dirty clothes and toys.
They also discovered a large amount of chocolate on the window sill and exterior edge that was still dripping and chocolate smeared on the inside of the window.
“He was a 5-year-old boy. I mean, he didn’t get to live the life that he should have, and I work in childcare, and so that really hit hard,” Destiny Pride said, who knew Grayson from living in the same building.
Weeks after memorial services were held and marches calling for justice for Grayson O’Connor, there is a sense of relief that soon those requests may be answered.
“It hits close to like my heart just from like my childhood and everything else like that and growing up in a an abusive home, you know just wish he would have got help faster and sooner,” Pride said.
Court documents say that all but two windows in the apartment wouldn’t open at all. One that would was in a bedroom but stopped after about six inches, and the other was the window that investigators say was missing safety stops.
O’Connor is in jail and held on a $100,000 cash bond. She’s due in court to review that bond on Feb. 5.