Aug 01, 2024

Records: Father knew window was broken before toddler fell to his death

Posted Aug 01, 2024 4:55 PM
Bass photo Jackson Co.
Bass photo Jackson Co.

KANSAS CITY —A man and woman have been charged with failing to protect a toddler from substantial risk, resulting  in the death of the child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Moses Lee Bass, 31, and Destiny Leeann Randle, 29, of both of Independence each faced the class A felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the 1st Degree.

Independence Towers where the tragedy occurred -Google image
Independence Towers where the tragedy occurred -Google image

According to court records, on the morning of July 29, police officers in  responded to a call that an infant had fallen from an apartment window, eight stories above the ground.

Randle photo Jackson Co.
Randle photo Jackson Co.

Officers arrived as fire crews were conducting life-saving measures on the child, located on the ground next to children's toys.

The father of the child told police he had left the child with his girlfriend and gone to take the dog out. Randle told police she was in a bedroom in the apartment and the window that the child fell from was closed and secured. She told police she knew the window did not properly lock. She and Bass usually secure it with a blue pole, she stated.  When officers checked the room they saw no blue pole. Three children were placed in custody of Children's Division and transported to the Child Protection Center for forensic interviews. Defendants told police they knew of the safety hazards with the window that couldn't be kept closed or locked.

Prosecutors requested a $100,000 bond.