KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mother of 5-year-old Grayson O'Connor, who died after falling 17 stories from an apartment building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, in November, was indicted Friday by a grand jury in connection to his death.
Corrinne O'Connor was indicted with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, leading to the death of the child, a Class A felony.
The indictment alleges O'Connor failed to supervise Grayson while they were together in the apartment with a fully open window, creating a "substantial risk" to the boy's "life, body and health."
O'Connor was previously charged in connection to Grayson's death in late January.
KCPD officers were called Nov. 27 to an alley near East 10th Street and Grand Boulevard, where Grayson's body was located after receiving a report from someone walking out of the basement of the apartment building.
Emergency medical crews tried to treat Grayson, who suffered "catastrophic damage" to his body. EMS reported that the body's cold temperature was concerning.
The only open window above the alleyway was on the 17th floor of the building. Surveillance video revealed Grayson hit a covered walkway before falling into the alley.
Investigators entered the apartment unit and found feces on the ground in the entryway, food debris and trash piled in a corner, and dried liquid all over the entryway walls.
Investigators located Corrinne O'Connor lying in front of the window. When asked where Grayson was, she replied that he went out the window.
Investigators found a "copious" amount of chocolate on the sill and exterior ledge of the window — smeared by child-like imprints — near where Grayson fell.
An apartment manager at Grand Boulevard Lofts told KSHB 41 News that it should have been impossible to open the windows more than a few inches. She said window stops would have to be purposefully removed for the window to open. The apartment filed an eviction notice against Corrinne, citing that the "window stops had been carelessly removed" by Corrinne and that the unit was in an "uninhabitable by the State due to very poor sanitary conditions."
Neighbors spoke up in the days after Grayson's death about concerns regarding Corrinne.
Corrinne O'Connor was booked into the Jackson County Detention Center on Thursday, Jan. 25. She remains in the detention center on a $100,000 bond.
Punishment for a Class A felony in Missouri is 10 to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment.
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