KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Court documents released Wednesday by a Johnson County, Kansas, District Court judge provide additional information on a fire in Shawnee last month that led to the death of an infant.
On Feb. 13 at around 12:52 a.m., the Shawnee Fire Department and police were dispatched to a house on West 69th Terrace on reports of a house fire. Documents say, when police arrived to the scene, the single-family residence was fully engulfed.
The affidavit unsealed Wednesday reveals the child's father, Nicholas Ecker, who faces one charge of first-degree murder and aggravated arson with risk to bodily harm, arrived to the scene without being contacted and told police he arrived due to a "bad feeling."
The document also states that Karlie Mae Phelps, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering a child under 16, is a resident of the Shawnee house, but was not home at the time of the fire. Tag readers confirm her vehicle was not in the area at the time of the fire, and Phelps later admitted to leaving the infant alone while she was at an individual's home in Wyandotte County.
After fire personnel managed the fire and gained entry into the home, they found the body of the baby in a crib.
Phelps arrived to the scene, and the affidavit says a law officer overheard her mumble "I lit it, no I know I put it out. That would be an accident," before blaming Ecker for the fire.
During an interview with detectives, the documents say that a forensic download was completed on Phelps' cell phone, and text messages between Phelps and Eckers were found on Feb. 12.
Around 10:21 p.m., Ecker messaged Phelps "where's jr?"
Phelps later claimed in the messages to Ecker that the baby was with her.
At 11:33 p.m. Ecker asked where Phelps was, and she claimed to be at a friend's residence. On Feb. 13 at 12:06 a.m., Ecker replied with a picture of a residence with the message "you ain't at Jackie's."
As the conversation continued, in a series of messages between the two, Ecker made statements including "I hate you" and "I'm blowing my head off."
Ecker later sent an image that appeared to be taken inside Phelp's residence of a Valentine's Day balloon.
The two continued to exchange messages until 12:57 a.m., when Ecker messaged that something was not right, and he urged Phelps to call him.
When Phelps said nothing was wrong, Ecker replied "Where is jr. Please tell me you have jr. Something is wrong."
Phelps then stated that he was sleeping in bed, before messaging seven minutes later stating "Go get junior NOW. HES INSIDE ... I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU STARTED THAT FIRE, YOU KILLED OUR BABY!!! And you could've killed me!!!"
The affidavit reveals that records for Ecker's known cell phone were obtained, and showed that the phone was reaching a cell phone tower at midnight in Olathe .68 miles from the location the fire occurred. The phone connected with another tower before once again striking the Olathe tower around the time Ecker arrived to the scene at the house.
An origin and cause determination from the Shawnee Fire Department determined that the fire was incendiary — meaning it was intentionally set. No detectable ignitable liquids were found as part of a fire debris sample analysis by the Johnson County Criminalistics Laboratory.
Documents say an autopsy performed by the Johnson County Medical Examiner's Office indicated that the infant was alive at the beginning of the fire process, and had sever burns and soot in his lungs.
During the Feb. 13 incident Ecker had been released on bond with aggravated domestic battery charges. Phelps was listed as the victim in the case.
The affidavit in the case stated that Ecker pushed Phelps and stuck her with his fists multiple times after she attempted to keep him from driving while under the influence by pushing him.
He then allegedly strangled her for some time before stopping and leaving in his truck.
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