KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jacqulyn Kirkpatrick pleaded guilty Wednesday in Wyandotte County Court to second-degree murder and other charges in the July 2020 death of 3-year-old Olivia Jansen.
Kirkpatrick, 34, was charged after Olivia's body was found in a shallow grave in a wooded area at South 34th Street and Steele Road.
In addition to the murder charge, Kirkpatrick also pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and two counts of interference with a law enforcement officer.
Howard Jansen III, the child's father, remains in Wyandotte County Jail facing first-degree murder and other charges.
KSHB 41 News reported in July 2020 that Olivia's face, arms and legs were covered in bruises when she was found.
Searchers found Olivia just hours after she was reported missing, Plake reported.
Olivia's grandmother, Elizabeth Jansen, told KSHB 41 in July 2020 that Olivia was "always so unhappy to go home. She would frown and say, 'You love me? You're not mad at me? I come back? I come back?' And I told her, 'I will hurt anybody that keeps you away from me.'"
Kirkpatrick is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20.
Jansen is set for trial on May 2, 2022.
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