The new date was set because the judge was unavailable, according to court officials. Neither the defense nor special prosecutor assigned for the hearing, John Arnold from the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, requested the change.
Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth also recused himself from the dismissal hearing, as well as Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser, because of the confidentiality of the calls in question.
Young is charged with felony endangering children and involuntary manslaughter after he allegedly beat the toddler to death.
Rebekah Kinner, 23, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, permitting child abuse and endangering children, counts that stem from not stopping the abuse and not seeking medical treatment for her daughter. Spaeth sentenced Kinner to the maximum sentence on May 5 for the involuntary manslaughter charge but the other two felonies were considered allied offenses and she could not received additional prison time for those charges.
Gmoser and Butler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer say there was no wrongdoing regarding the calls placed by Young to Frank Schiavone IV in December. Calls are routinely recorded from the Butler County Jail, and that fact is well documented by postings at the phone and announcements from most phones, Dwyer said. Detectives did not listen to the calls in question when they learned it was an attorney/client call.
But the defense claims detectives began acting on information from the conversations and further acted to interfere with the representation of Young.
A number of subpoenas have been issued by the defense to detectives and officials who are expected to testify at the June hearing, including Kelly Heile, the assistant prosecutor who is prosecuting Kinner, plus Young and Dwyer.
This week a forensic psychological evaluation requested by Kinner's attorney Kyle Rapier before her sentencing was released to defense attorneys and made public. It recounted what Kinner told the psychologist about her life, in which she said she was raped and beaten at the age of 13. Dr. Robert Kurzhals said Kinner suffered from PTSD.
Defense attorneys told the Journal-News the latest statement from Kinner is inconsistent with past versions.
On the December night that Kinsley was injured, the toddler woke up “screaming and crying,” Kinner told a psychologist, according to court documents obtained.
It wasn’t unusual for Kinsley to have nightmares, so Kinner’s boyfriend, Bradley Young, took Kinsley into the living room to watch cartoons, her mother said. Once the toddler dozed off, Kinner said she went back to bed.
“The next thing I know I wake up and he’s just standing there holding her with the lights on,” Kinner told the psychologist.
“She was breathing, but it was like very, very shallow … I knew something was wrong,” Kinner said.
Young claimed Kinsley had another nightmare and woke up screaming again, Kinner said.
Less than 48 hours later, Kinsley was pronounced dead at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Kinner told the psychologist her relationship with Young began in August 2015 and that he treated her well along with Kinsley. But later Kinner said Young became possessive and “slowly started taking over control of my daughter.”
She said she began seeing marks on her child and saw Young hit her as punishment, but believed him when he gave explanations about more serious marks, saying Kinsley was injured in a “fender bender” and she hit her head on a faucet while he was washing her hair.
Young's attorneys say Kinner, who is expected to be the star witness at Young's trial, has told seven versions of the the death of her daughter and wanted to make sure they had access to the latest psychological evaluation which many contain yet another version.
“Without this witness they have no evidence at all,” Schiavone IV in a March hearing.
The prosecution has released Kinner’s grand jury testimony, which totals 435 pages, to the defense.
Schiavone IV said Friday that the statement given to the psychologist is “yet another inconsistent statement from Rebekah.”
“She said she didn’t see anything, but the charges (against Brad) are based on her seeing something,” Schiavone IV said.
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