By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-13 00:32:35 | Updated at 2026-08-13 02:06:36
2 hours ago
The father of a seven-year-old boy who prosecutors say was murdered by his mother and her two transgender lovers is himself transgender.
William Michael-Evans-Ellis was killed in Cincinatti, Ohio, last week. He was the son of Kaitlin Evans, 39, who has now been charged with his murder and Tara Ellis, who is entirely innocent of wrongdoing and distraught by William's death.
Tara is a biological male who previously went by the name of Thomas. She transitioned and began living as a woman some time after her late son's birth in 2019.
Tara petitioned for a name change in 2023, according to court papers seen by the Daily Mail.
She is said to have begun a four way open relationship, known as a polycule, with Kaitlin Evans and two other trans women in the run-up to William's death.
The other women are Nessa Keaney and Kirby Rankin, whose birth name is Adamhnan Judaydon Caoilte Lugh Keaney. The trio have all pleaded not guilty to William's murder and are now on suicide watch at Hamilton County Jail.
Tara moved out of the home before William's death and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on her part. She said in court that she last saw William in December 2025, nine months before his death.
William is said to have suffered torment including water torture, before his body was found in a closet last week.
Prosecutors said in court that they found William Michael-Evans-Ellis, seven, in a closet where he had been bound and duct-taped
Tara Evans-Ellis is seen here in a shirt and tie prior to transitioning, alongside her wife Kaitlin Evans who is facing a murder charge in relation to the death of son William
Kaitlin, pictured above, has pleaded not guilty and is now on suicide watch at jail
A distraught Tara addressed a court in the city last week when the three were arraigned in Hamilton County.
'Willie was my life. I trusted you to care for him. They kept him from me for the past nine months over lies,' she said through tears.
On Tuesday it emerged William died as a result of blunt force trauma. A coroner refused to rule out the possibility that he may have been sexually assaulted.
Dr Lakshmi Sammarco spoke at a press conference in Cincinnati where she said the boy had multiple injuries, with too many bruises on his body to count.
He had an acute fracture of the distal humerus, the lower end of the upper arm bone which forms the elbow joint, which she said would have taken a 'fair amount of force.'
According to Dr Sammarco, William had likely been dead for at least day when he was found.
The youngster was found dead inside the home in Oakley on Thursday, after being tortured inside the address, authorities claimed in court last week.
The trio were co-parenting the youth, prosecutors said in court last week, after they were arraigned over the death of William.
The boy's grandparents Michael and Tina Evans have also since spoke with The Cincinnati Enquirer about their beloved grandchild.
According to the two, they were heartbroken when in early July the boy was cut off from seeing them and his other grandparents.
Kaitlin and Tara were in a four-way open relationship with Kirby Rankin (left) and Nessa Keaney (right) - court records seen by the Daily Mail indicate both are biological males
The four had all lived in the address in Oakley, pictured here, where the body of William was found last week bound in duct tape
William with grandparents Michael and Tina Evans, who have spoken out after his death
Michael also told the outlet that it was actually Tara who introduced his daughter to Rankin and Keaney.
He said that the four all got along and started hosting regular game nights on Friday's inside their home.
Michael said that when the four were together, William would spend the weekend with his grandparents.
The four then all moved into the home on Madison Road where William's body would later be found.
According to Michael, his daughter and Tara had a falling out and Tara decided to move out, leaving her son with Evans, Keaney and Rankin.
Despite this, Michael said his grandson was clearly okay with the arrangement saying: 'William would tell us that he loved his new family.'
After being told they could no longer see their grandchild, the Evanses started to grow concerned and appeared at the home on July 12.
Rankin answered, Michael recalled to the outlet, and after a 20-minute conversation at the door they were allowed to enter.
'I sat next to him with my arm tightly around him and kissed him on the head several times, telling him several times that we love him. He said that he loved us too,' he recalled.
Unbeknownst to the grandparents, it would be the last time they ever saw William alive.
Michael Evans is seen here with his late grandson William in an image posted to a fundraiser
Tara is seen here addressing the three in court last week at their arraignment
Michael added: 'William was the light of our life. We will never get over losing him or stop imagining the pain and terror that he must have endured.'
According to WLWT, prosecutors said in court last week that there was evidence to show that William was being abused for over two months by the trio.
After police entered the property, prosecutors said they found him in a closet where he had been bound and duct-taped.
It was claimed that despite neglecting and torturing the boy, they managed to take a dog of theirs to a vet to be vaccinated the day before his death.
Investigators said the boy suffered visible injuries which included 'indicated physical beatings' over his body.
He also suffered impact injuries to the back of his head, had been water tortured for a period of time and was badly burned, investigators said.
An attorney for Evans claimed that she did not cause the death of her son, saying that one of the others had but did not name either Rankin or Keaney.
Her attorney did say in court that she had failed to save her son, and pleaded with the judge for a $250,000 bond.
Prosecutors asked for a $1 million bond on the murder charge and a further $500,000 on a child endangerment charge. The judge sided with the prosecution.
A lawyer for Keaney said she had failed to 'administer treatment' for the boy's injuries which were allegedly 'caused by somebody else.'
Her attorney requested a $200,000 bond. Prosecutors pushed back, saying that Keaney failed to inform the authorities of the abuse and her bond was set at $1 million.
Attorneys for Rankin requested an evaluation, saying she suffered from 'documented serious mental health issues'.
The judge agreed, with Rankin to be back in court for the results at the beginning of next month.
A detective who was part of the investigation said that Rankin disclosed her own involvement in the abuse and implicated the two others as being involved.
Her bond was set at $1 million on the murder charge, with another $100,000 secured for the child endangerment charge.
A detective said the case was 'one of the most disturbing examples of child abuse' that he had ever seen in his two decades of work.
The trio are next back in court on August 17. All of them are on suicide watch inside Hamilton County Jail, Fox19 reported.
