Family is angry after no charges were filed in child abuse and neglect case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A family is angry to learn that no one will be charged for allegedly abusing a child.

Missouri Children’s Department records show that the baby boy Remington, known as Remi, was abused for several days when he was just six weeks old.

Remi’s father’s family came to KSHB 41 News and asked to share his story. She told I-Team reporter Sarah Plake that they were concerned for his safety if no one was held responsible.

“My son was hurt and all I really want is justice for him,” Malaki Neagles said.

According to a Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) report, Remi, now five months old, was most likely with his mother and her boyfriend when he suffered abuse and neglect.

The abuse was “intentional and not accidental,” including broken ribs in various stages of healing, a fractured skull, brain hemorrhages and long-term brain damage.

“The neighbors had to resuscitate him,” said Remi’s great-grandmother, Connie Reed.

According to the state’s report, Remi’s mother and her boyfriend only took him to the hospital in June, when he was six weeks old, when he became unresponsive.

“I’m just sad about it,” Neagles said.

Remi is now in temporary protective custody with Neagles and his family, who say he is doing much better.

“This child could no longer be loved,” Reed said. “And we will do everything in our power to protect him.”

VOICE FOR ALL | Share your voice with Sarah Plake from KSHB 41

Reed says they want to see charges, but it doesn’t look like they’re coming. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said there is not enough evidence to charge anyone at this time.

“We want justice for Remi. Remi didn’t ask for it,” Reed said. “And the people who did this shouldn’t be able to walk on the streets.”

They point the finger directly at Remi’s mother and her boyfriend.

Prosecutors could not provide details about KSHB 41, but the family said they were told prosecutors could not determine exactly who allegedly abused Remi.

The DSS report notes that Remi’s mother told various stories about how he might have sustained these injuries, such as that her mother (Remi’s maternal grandmother) might have thrown herself at him or dropped him. The report said these stories “did not exactly match the time frame established through skeletal surveys.”

According to the report, Remi was abused for seven to 10 days before she was hospitalized. Additional injuries were noted to the lip and tongue area, which reportedly occurred three to four weeks earlier.

When examined at the hospital, it was determined that Remi’s injuries were a result of physical abuse.

“I was told by the prosecutor that the file was over an inch thick,” said Beau Knauff, Remi’s grandfather. “A file more than an inch thick will open me up to some charges.”

The family says they are worried about what comes next, especially because the family court is granting Remi’s mother supervised visitation but ordering that her boyfriend have no contact with Remi.

The family says the two are still a couple and live together.

“I’m worried about his safety,” Neagles said. “Because I don’t know what’s next for him if he goes back.”

Remi now has several doctor’s appointments every week, from physical therapy to a visit to the neurologist.

“We don’t mind taking him there. That’s not the point. The point is that he should never be there,” Knauff said. “He should never have been in this position.”

Reed’s message to Jackson County officials: “Do your job. Protect these children.”

KSHB 41 reached out to Remi’s mother but had not received a response at the time of publishing this story.

A spokesman for Independence Police, the department that originally investigated Remi’s case, said that if prosecutors do not file charges, “the case will be dismissed unless new evidence is presented.”

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