KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mother of a 5-year-old boy who fell from 17-story apartment building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, did not appear at an eviction hearing Thursday.
Grayson O’Connor died on Nov. 27, 2023. The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department said the boy fell from an apartment unit and landed in an alley.
Sources told KSHB 41 News a criminal case in the death is sealed.
Last week, the Grand Boulevard Lofts filed paperwork to evict Grayson’s mother from the apartment building. She did not attend the first hearing in the case Thursday. A judge continued the case to Feb. 1.
The eviction paperwork said Grayson’s mother “carelessly removed” stops installed in the window frame which prevent the window from opening more than a few inches.
“They’re strict about the windows and a lot of stuff in this building,” said V, man who lives a few floors below the O’Connor's.
He said property managers routinely inspect apartment units and check the status of window stops.
But V showed KSHB 41 News it is possible to remove the stops with the correct tools and know-how.
“It fights you,” V said of the window stops. “A little baby couldn’t do that, couldn’t raise the window all the way up. You see what I’m saying? A baby couldn’t do that.”
V and several other tenants in the building said they haven’t seen Grayson’s mother at the complex since the day Grayson died.
KSHB 41 News has requested case files from Missouri’s Children’s Division.
The state agency said it will not release the information until April, at the earliest.
Grayson’s grandmother did not respond to a request for comment. And the attorney representing the apartment complex declined to comment Thursday.
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