Dad Attacks Police After SAing and Decapitating His Daughter

Dad Attacks Police After SAing and Decapitating His Daughter

Himmani Latig was born on March 28th, 2011, to parents Darnell Ogulry Jones and Tiara Kston. At the time of our story, she lived with her grandmother Dorothy in Toledo, Ohio. Her mother and father had separate lives, but she visited them occasionally. Darnell lived on Willard Street and dated a woman named Nina Turner, and the two had a child together, Kimani’s half-sister.

There isn’t much we know about Kimani’s mother, Tiara, at least what’s verifiable. What we do know is she has other children aside from Kimani and that she lives in the Cleveland area. It hasn’t been reported why neither she nor Darnell had custody of Kimani, as Dorothy was not officially her legal guardian until 2024.

Prior to that, Kimani lived with her mother’s godmother before she was even a year old. Kimmani started living with Dorothy between roughly 2019 and 2020, while the godmother still provided for Kimani when needed. Kimmani transferred schools multiple times and had a hard time settling in, allegedly because of behavioral issues. In 2024, she was a seventh grader at Spring Elementary, where she was excelling.

She was an honor roll student who was recognized by her peers for her kindness. In fact, she was supposed to receive a kindness award in late March. She liked listening to older music and playing video games and sports such as basketball and football. On the screen, you’ll see her playing a Ms. Pac-Man machine.

She also loved spending time with younger children. When her grandmother had company over, Kimani always took it upon herself to keep their little ones entertained. Kimani was loved by her peers and teachers alike. The way they spoke of her, you could tell that she was one in a million: always kind, generous, and thoughtful.

Kimani left a lasting impression on everyone that she encountered. Her 14th birthday was coming up, and she told her grandmother that she wanted a basketball-themed birthday party. Kimmani confided in her teachers both at Spring Elementary and at schools in the past that she wasn’t in a safe environment at home. As mandatory reporters, they contacted child protective services.

Though there was little action taken to protect Kimani, if at all, it’s unclear who or what caused these concerns. Teacher Kaen Herabedian said that Kimani was living with a different guardian at the time she made her report. It’s also reported that Dorothy admitted to excessive physical discipline to caseworkers. Speaking to them alone, Kimani told CPS investigators that she felt safe in Dorothy’s home. Ms.

Herabedian said Kimani was constantly bruised and fearful of going home. At Spring Elementary, a student claimed that Kimani showed up to class with bruises on her arms and said that her grandmother and her were fighting. Outside of school, Kimani spent much of her time alone. Her grandmother worked very long hours, so she would go straight home after class with only her two dogs for company.

Kimani was said to be good and responsible, so Dorothy felt comfortable leaving her unsupervised. According to Dorothy, she always calls me and asks me prior to going somewhere. She is a latch-key kid, so she has her own keys for the home. She has a phone just in case something happens so she can contact somebody. She’s very responsible.

Kimani was last seen by her mother, Tiara, on Saturday, March 15th, and by her father, Darnell, on Sunday, March 16th. On that Saturday, Darnell dropped Kimani off in front of her mother’s home. Tiara said that Dorothy gave him permission to do so. Kimani spent that Saturday with her mother.

The following day, Darnell said she called him late at night, scared. She thought there was an intruder outside of the property, and she was too afraid to be alone. So, her father and his cousin stayed with her until 12:30 in the morning. Then, on Monday morning, Dorothy returned home from work. She said the front door was unlocked and the house was a mess.

The gas on the stove was running, and Kimani was nowhere to be found. Her house keys and glasses were left inside along with her sleepwear and underwear. She didn’t answer her phone. She had not shown up for school—something very unlike Kimani. Understandably concerned, Dorothy called 911.

Emergency. Yes. I’d like to make a police report. Okay. What’s the address? Ash Street. Okay. What kind of report? A missing person. Okay. What’s your name? Mine or hers? Yours? Dorothy. Okay. Who’s missing? Kimani. Is this your daughter or son? This is my granddaughter. Okay. Do you have custody? I do. Okay. How old is she? 13. How long ago has she been missing? Well, to the best of my understanding, she’s just been missing this morning. And I called her school and went up to her school, and they said she’s not there. What school does she go to? Spring. Do you remember… did you see what she was wearing before she left? No. She’s usually going to school before I get home from work. Okay. Is she black, white, or Hispanic? She’s black. She looks Hispanic. Okay. And then what was her last name? Latig. Okay. Does she have a phone on her that you’re aware of? She does, and it’s dead, because it’s going straight to voicemail.

A police report was filed, and Kimani was officially a missing child. 13 Action News interviewed Dorothy the following day.

When I came home, she wasn’t here. Of course, she was supposed to have been on her way to school, but according to the way that the house was set up once I got here—cuz it was in complete disarray—she wasn’t here. So I called the school so that I can talk to her, and they said that she wasn’t there. So shortly thereafter, I contacted him and went up to the school and had them check again.

And again, they stated that she was not there. So we started looking for her. The house was unlocked, and when I walked in the house, all of the gas was on in the house. Like the stove was on. There was no fire, but you can hear and smell the gas on in the house. And that’s definitely unusual. Other than her and I, it’s just the two dogs in the house.

So, who turned it on? So that was kind of suspicious. Then her glasses and her underclothes were by the couch in the front room. Her pajamas were in the dining room on the floor. So it was just out of the ordinary.

When you say glasses, does she need those glasses to see? I mean, she wears glasses on a daily basis. Yes, she needs them for school, just period.

The “him” that Dorothy refers to is Darnell, who stood next to her in the first interview. He also spoke to the reporters.

Yeah, she has her own keys. So, she left glasses and keys. It ain’t adding up. I’m saying, does she have a cell phone? Yeah. And it’s going straight to voicemail. Okay. All right. And she tried to call me at 1:29, and then she called my girl like five other times, and the last call came in at 1:49. So she was trying to get in contact with somebody. And so no one has had contact with her. Nobody saw her.

Who was the last person to really see her? It was me. I came over here cuz she said that it seemed like somebody was trying to break into the house. So I sat for an hour. Me and my cousin, we sat over here and we left around like 12:30-ish, and she tried to call at like 1:29, and I missed the call, so she was calling everybody else, too.

A search party was held on March 21st, where citizens of Toledo and neighboring cities joined forces to hopefully bring Kimani home. They handed out missing persons flyers with Kimani’s name and face, spreading the word. Her mother, Tiara, who was in attendance, spoke to the press.

I have not slept in three days. I have not eaten in three days. I have never had a seizure before, and I’ve had three. All forms of support help. Whether it’s a social media post, whether it’s you hanging up a flyer, whether you just bringing up her name in conversation and making sure that people hear about her, it still makes a difference.

Few people, if any, suspected that Kimani just simply ran away. She was a good, responsible kid, and the house was completely trashed. From the beginning, people everywhere from the community to law enforcement suspected that this was a kidnapping, though they had no idea who could have snatched Kimani from her home. But law enforcement quickly began to put the pieces together.

They turned their attention to the last person to see Kimani alive: her father. Darnell repeated the story he told the press to police officers, though it’s reported his details changed over time. In an interview with police, Dorothy said Kimani’s underwear, which was left on the living room floor, had disappeared shortly after Darnell visited her home.

She had told him it concerned her, and after he left, she realized it was gone. Darnell Jones’s history of violent crime and domestic violence did not help his case. Journalists Jaro Cuck and Eric Taton gathered Darnell’s entire criminal record and compiled it in an article for the Toledo Blade newspaper. It began with a drunk and disorderly charge when he was 19 years old.

Within a year, he was a common sight in Toledo courtrooms for similar offenses, gradually increasing in severity until he set fire to a building. Darnell took an Alford plea for a lesser sentence in exchange for a smaller charge. Instead of committing arson, he pleaded guilty to attempting to commit arson. While his sentence was reduced, it still came with a litany of conditions and restrictions, such as serving time, getting a job, earning his GED, and receiving treatment at a drug and alcohol facility.

Darnell was a felon, which meant it was illegal for him to purchase or own a firearm. He went about four years without making a court appearance. In January of 2015, Darnell and an unnamed man were in the Green Belt Place Apartments. They got into an altercation, and Darnell pulled out a gun. He shot at the victim and ran, but he was chased down and apprehended by authorities.

His trial was resolved five months later. Again, he was directed to receive treatment and find employment along with serving time in a work release facility, undergoing a mental health assessment, and wearing an ankle monitor. In November, law enforcement found Darnell broke the conditions of his community control. For this, he was placed back in the work release facility.

During his time there, he lost his temper while arguing with one of the officers. He broke a window when he punched it in anger. He was charged with a misdemeanor and transferred to a different facility. Darnell left in June of 2017 and was a free man for an entire two months. In August of 2017, he was performing maintenance work on his car when a man confronted him for stealing from a family member.

The man said Darnell hit him in the face with an alternator, to which Darnell claimed it was self-defense. His wife at the time, Antonia Sullivan, was also interviewed by officers. Either way, the man needed more than 20 stitches to repair his face. Darnell was arrested for felonious assault and initially sentenced to 180 days in a correction center.

Instead of serving time, his sentence was suspended. He only needed to endure two years of probation, which he violated after six months. Darnell was charged with drunk and disorderly conduct again. While waiting for his court hearing, he tried to break into a woman’s home through a window. Police were called. When the woman learned Darnell was intoxicated, she decided not to press charges.

But Darnell was charged for drunk and disorderly conduct for a third time. He was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon after an open pocket knife was found on his person. His punishment was more of the same: committed to a work release program and required to get a job. He almost had a fourth drunk and disorderly charge on his record, but this case was dismissed by the courts.

His criminal record up until now had characterized him as irresponsible, impulsive, quick to anger, and somebody to be wary of. But there was still worse yet to come from him. In 2019, Darnell and his wife Antonia were living in an apartment complex in East Toledo. According to their neighbors, they were far from a happy couple.

Shouting matches were commonly heard within the apartment, loud enough to be audible to any passerby through the walls. In July of that year, one of Darnell and Antonia’s fights escalated. He got violent, throwing objects and choking her. He hurled two televisions from the second-floor balcony, and witnesses said that Darnell was close to doing the same to the woman.

The commotion drew enough attention for multiple calls to be placed to 911. Antonia was thankfully saved, but she did not want to press charges against her husband. Instead, the neighbors offered their witness statements to the police. Combined with the evidence at the scene, officers could arrest Darnell without Antonia’s cooperation.

Darnell was charged with assault and domestic violence. The assault charges were dropped, and he pleaded guilty to the domestic violence charge. He was sentenced to 180 days in a correction center. He was only in custody for 11 days, which were served during the legal proceedings. Instead, he was put on probation and made to receive treatment for substance use, but was relieved from this after 11 more days.

The next year, in April, Darnell was shot in the chest and brought to a hospital for treatment. It’s reported he was trespassing onto a neighbor’s property, got into an argument with one of the home’s residents, and at least one round was fired. No charges were pressed. In 2022, officers were alerted to a daycare parking lot. They found a drunken Darnell lying on the ground holding a firearm.

According to the charges, he fired the gun at some point. He was also in possession of drug paraphernalia. The prosecution and defense reached a plea bargain. The charges of paraphernalia possession, drunk and disorderly conduct, and discharging a firearm were all dropped. Darnell pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a weapon as a felon and using a weapon while intoxicated.

Since his previous community control sentences proved unsuccessful, he was thrown in prison for only a year. Darnell’s girlfriend, Nina, took notice of some suspicious activity early on. When he visited her, he asked that she turn off her in-home security cameras. A family member also confided that they saw Darnell hiding something underneath her basement staircase.

Nina was under the impression that Kimani’s case was just that of a typical runaway teenager, but the gears in her head spun erratically when she saw what was in her staircase closet. She didn’t want to believe it. She thought Darnell was a good partner and father, but she couldn’t ignore what was in front of her. She called detectives and told them what she had learned.

They swiftly confiscated the evidence that Darnell was trying to hide: his muddy work boots and a rolled rubber mat meant to protect the back seats of cars when they’re folded down. Nina noted that he hadn’t needed his boots for some time since he wasn’t working. The detectives left the property before Darnell returned home, but when he saw his basement stash was gone, he left for good.

Nina never saw him after that. She was so scared that she relocated herself and her daughter to a new living space in case Darnell found out that she had turned against him. He later called her. The phone number was based in Columbus, and she passed that information on to the police. In many cases we’ve covered, we often see women trying to protect their male partners when they commit a heinous crime.

It speaks volumes that Nina Turner didn’t do this. It was no doubt a difficult choice to help investigators locate someone she loved, but it was absolutely the right one. If not for her diligence, Darnell Jones may not have been found so quickly. According to court documents, evidence from his phone, home, and surveillance footage was enough to request an arrest warrant.

He was charged with abduction, and a warrant for his arrest was issued on March 23rd. Darnell’s time living on Willard Street was uneventful. His neighbors thought he was perfectly normal, so it surprised and shocked them greatly that laid-back and cool Darnell could have had it in him to be so dangerous.

They were horrified, especially those who were parents or grandparents, that they lived so close to a monster. Three years before Kimani went missing, a house in East Toledo caught on fire. Fire trucks were dispatched to the scene at approximately 11 p.m. on May 4th, 2022. Firefighters discovered the flames started within the second floor, but no one could figure out the cause of the fire.

Despite the damage, the house was largely untouched for three years. In May of 2024, it was labeled a public nuisance and potentially a danger to the public’s safety. The house was also in violation of the city’s municipal codes. The city sent the homeowner a notice warning him that the property was subject to demolition. Following this, the property stood for 10 months.

However, on March 24th, a body was found in this abandoned house, located on the second floor. A crowd formed outside the house, waiting with bated breath to see if Kimani was inside. Members of the crowd yelled at investigators to give them answers. Mother Tiara was among the onlookers when law enforcement found her daughter.

She didn’t know what was going on, and she had some emotional episodes during this period of uncertainty. Understandably, maybe they’re still not telling me nothing. It takes nothing. It’s… it’s nothing to take a picture. It’s nothing to, you know what I’m saying, let me know when the coroner’s bring it around so I can see if that’s indeed my baby. Y’all not saying nothing.

It was Kimani. She had been sexually assaulted and her hands completely amputated. Her throat had been cut so deep that she was nearly decapitated. The autopsy revealed it was the wounds to her neck that ultimately ended her life. After officers told Tiara what they found, she fell to her knees and cried.

The mayor was one of the many public officials to speak about the effect this case had on the community. He said, “It’s hard to put into words just how terrible an event this is. Obviously, for the family and friends most directly affected, but really even for the whole community. I’m not a prosecutor. I’m not a judge. And I want the process to play itself out fairly and make sure everyone gets their day in court. But whoever was responsible for this, I hope they throw the book at them. That’s just me. No one deserves what this young girl went through, and if justice is to be served, someone needs to pay for what they did.”

Later in the evening, it appeared that Dorothy Latig had been arrested. It was reported that she was escorted from her home in handcuffs. A spokesperson for the Toledo Police Department denied this was the case. Dorothy and police officers both said they had to move her for her safety, as a crowd had started to gather outside of her home. It’s unknown why exactly a staged arrest was the best course of action, but since both parties have confirmed these events, we can take them at their word.

Well, I was called and told that there was a mob of people in front of my house. They were angry. It was more or less the people that were here earlier waiting to see if it was Kimani that was in the home. And um, basically, some people from the neighborhood had contacted me and said that there was a mob in front of my house and they were talking about what they were going to do to me once I came home.

So the police, the detective, um, said that she would have a unit come out and help me get my things and more or less escort me off the property. I asked to be handcuffed just so they can get them away from my property.

Are you scared? So, no, I was never arrested. I was taken downtown, but I was never arrested.

Are you scared for your safety right now? I am.

What are some of the things that you’ve been hearing and receiving from people? Um, they said they was going to blow up my house. They said they was going to do harm to me. Um, it’s just been a barrage of the different things that they’ve been stating.

The community held a vigil for Kimani the next day. Many people came to honor her memory. Some knew her personally, but many were total strangers. Her former teacher, Kaen Herabedian, was in attendance.

Sick to my core. Devastated to say the least. I made many reports concerned about her safety and was fearful that something like this might happen. I don’t even have the words to express how I feel. Kimani expressed some thanks to us in the school, not only to myself, but to the other adults in the building, her peers, her school bus driver, who all made phone calls to Child Protective Services.

Lucas County Children’s Services was notified on several different occasions that she may be at risk of child abuse in the home, and it just fell on deaf ears. Our calls were not heard. Her voice was not heard, and she told us some very concerning things that were happening to her in that household. She was very sweet. I enjoyed having her at school every day. She greeted me every single morning with a hug. That was all she really ever wanted was affection.

She was a great student to have in the classroom. She always participated. She enjoyed playing football outside with her peers when we would go out for recess. She’s very kind, super generous, always offering her breakfast in the morning, like asking me, “Oh, Miss H, are you thirsty? I brought you a milk.” Things like that. And she did this every single day. I mean, she was just a joy to be around.

A woman who didn’t even know Kimani also had a chance to speak to the press. Sher Sweeney spoke of family unity and the importance of listening to our community’s children.

Family that prays together stays together. And this is the time when we need to come together. We need to tell our young folks whatever’s going on at home, school, church, parks, you can talk to us. Never be afraid to tell us where you at, what’s going on with you, what’s happening, because we can’t help you. Right now, we’re losing our babies at the hands of adults, whoever. It’s senseless. It’s so senseless here in Toledo.

George Sarantou of the Toledo City Council called Kimani’s death a tragedy that could have been avoided. He not only criticized CPS for its inaction in her case, but also encouraged the local press to investigate the organizations that failed Kimani and many other children in similar situations.

Law enforcement across the entire state of Ohio were issued a be-on-the-lookout alert, also known as a BOLO, for Darnell Jones. He evaded law enforcement until the following day, when he was found in Columbus. SWAT officers found Darnell in his car. He had shaved his head in an attempt to disguise himself. When they approached him, weapons were drawn, and Darnell appeared calm. He said, “Just kill me. Kill me.”

But the officers quickly noted their suspect’s hand was in his pocket. Rather than go quietly, he responded by pulling out a gun. Within seconds, Darnell was apprehended. He was shot, but not fatally. As he was handcuffed and being attended to by medical personnel, he said that he was in pain and he didn’t want to be on this earth any longer. Officers confiscated the revolver and a walkie-talkie from Darnell. He was hospitalized at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. None of the officers were reported to be wounded in the altercation.

Come here, man. Don’t do it. What’s your hands? Kill me, dude. Dude, show me your hands right now. Pull your hand out your… I swear to God. Pull your… Shots fired! Shots fired! Don’t move! Don’t move! All right, suspect down. Don’t move! He’s got 33 right there. 33 in his hand. No, it’s a walkie-talkie, but their 33 is right here. Don’t you move or you’re going to get shot. Okay. All right. Yep. That’s him. Somebody get… Somebody get on the main. I’m working on it. All right. On your belly. All right. I got cuffs. There you go. Thank you, brother. We’ll get you help. Okay. I just want to die, bro. No, I know. I know. But we can’t allow that. I can’t. I don’t want to. Get us some cruisers. Secure this. Okay. All right. Who fired? Him in the car. He did, too. I think he did. I did not. Okay. He did. Okay. You good? All right. You good? All right. I know. I know. All right. Listen to me. Listen to me. I got to roll you off. I got to get you up on your side. Okay. I got to get you up on your side. I got you. All right. Where’d he hit, bro? I don’t know. All in my leg. On your leg. He’s all hit right here. I know. He’s hitting his arm once. Oh, my God. You need a medic here now. Where’s… I know they’re coming. Okay, we got them. Um, he’s hit once in the arm. All right. He’s hit in the side here. Yep. You’re hit in the side. Okay. You’re going to be fine. Hey, look. You know what’s good about this? What? Sit up. Okay. You’re… you’re going to be fine. I came home. I know. I know. I think you’re broke. Where do you guys need it? There you go. How’s that? Okay. Broke. Okay. I can’t get up. Okay. We’re going to let you sit here like this. Take a deep breath. Copy that. Do me a favor. Take a deep breath for me. Okay. Hey, move your car. Block that road. You’re on chasing. Get that road blocked. Hold you up. We can’t… we can’t let you down. Okay. You got to stay up. I’ll hold you up. All right. You just relax. Lean back in. There you go. You’re going to be fine. Listen. Hey, nothing’s ever that bad. All right. It is. Okay. Well, Darnell, right? Do you have anything else on you? Do you have any more guns? Yes. Where’s the guns at? No longer there. Where’s the other gun at? I don’t… Darnell. Hey. Sorry. Darnell. Hey, do you have anything else on you? Yeah, you said you had a gun. Well, I… I don’t… I think he’s just fading. I don’t know. Nope. Just stay back. Okay. Please stay back. Hey. Okay. Okay. We’re making good witnesses. You’re… you’re fine, ma’am. You’re fine. We need a cart. We need a cart. Cart here. Legs on. Which way do you want his head? You need him out of the cuffs? Yeah, we’re going to need him out. All right, we’re going to have to… Hey, listen. We’re going down. We’re going to roll you over one more time. All right. Got to get those cuffs off your feet. Relax. Clean up. There you go. He’s hit in the arm, leg, arm, and I believe left chest. Okay. Get a good search on him. I am. Everything’s got to come off. You taking him all down enough in this? Yeah. All right. That’s fine. Pull this off. Cut the cuff off. You have to help us lift. Just good. Hey, don’t move your arm. I know it hurts. They’re going to help you. Okay. You can shoot me in the head. Well, we’re not trying to hurt you. We’re not trying to kill you. Take off my arm. No, we’re not going to take it off your arm. Okay. They’re going to cut it off in just a second.

On top of the murder and sexual assault charges, this stunt of his gave him extra charges of assaulting a police officer. He was supposed to appear for an arraignment, but since he was in the hospital, his hearing was pushed back.

Robert Armstrong, chief of the Toledo Police Department, said Kimani’s death was heartbreaking to the people of Toledo. Despite his past experience, her case shocked him.

You know, there’s evil in the world, and I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, after 31 and a half years of seeing evil, that… but sometimes even today, you get surprised at how much evil’s out there.

Lucas County Children’s Services, or LCCS, received heavy backlash from the community for their inaction in Kimani’s case. Pete Gerkin of the Lucas County Board of Commissioners called it the lowest point of disconnect between Lucas County Children’s Services and the community.

The organization conducted an internal investigation on the reports about Kimani: specifically, two from March of 2024 and one from December of 2023. They spoke to Kimani one-on-one, but they said there was no evidence that showed she was to be placed under someone else’s care. However, they instructed the grandmother on appropriate discipline.

Darnell was not listed on the LCCS’s records as Kimani’s father or even as an adult in her life. They have not said why this information was missing in the first place. LCCS discussed their staff shortages with the press, made worse by the aftermath of the pandemic. Child service positions are not easy jobs. They are long, demanding hours with below-average pay and benefits.

The job itself is difficult in nature. Caseworkers bear witness to anything from financial poverty to extreme violence. So it’s unsurprising that these positions also have a high turnover rate. When there aren’t enough filled positions, the workload on the individual caseworker is heavier, which then leads to more potential resignations and more chances for dangerous mistakes to be made.

The Toledo Blade spoke with people employed by LCCS for insight on a day in the life of a child services caseworker. They reported that the number of children entering CPS care spiked following the pandemic and the opioid epidemic. By the end of 2023, agencies in Ohio saw double the usual employee turnover rates, leaving more vacant positions.

One of these LCCS employees, Sarah Joella, told the Toledo Blade: “In assessment, each unit has a supervisor, and then each supervisor has a maximum of five workers in their unit. Right now, my unit is at two. It is me and another worker. Right now, we have 15 workers in rotation, and we’re typically at 30. It’s fairly typical to come in on a Monday with what’s been coming in over the weekend and have 17 or 18 intakes ready to be assigned.”

It is not an excuse for Kimani’s death or of the suffering of many other children in Lucas County. Rather, it’s an explanation of the why and the how: why did this happen and how can we prevent it in the future?

A woman named Audrey Harun, who manages a youth group home, brought up the barrier to entry that excludes potential job candidates. The positions often require bachelor’s degrees in social work or other related fields. Audrey believes that there are many people who could excel in these positions if they were just given the chance to prove themselves.

You have people that have graduated from foster care through high school and have gone on to associate degrees, but maybe not bachelor’s, that would make really great caseworkers because they know what to look for. They know signs. They know good placements and bad placements that would give them the advantage there, but they maybe didn’t have that chance to get their bachelor’s degree. They need to take candidates who have real-world experience and knowledge as well.

Commissioner Gerkin, along with other leaders in the county, conceptualized a task force to investigate the internal failings of their local child services agency. It was to be made of volunteers who fit a certain set of criteria. There were 30 applications after the first day. After the April 30th deadline, about 200 people had applied.

The applicants had to fulfill at least one of five requirements to be considered by the county commissioner’s office: have lived experience in the system, be a professional in the system, be a safety and criminal justice professional, be a mandatory reporter, or be a community leader. Those with certain convictions or active litigations against them, such as involving domestic violence or child welfare concerns, were obviously not considered for the task force.

Three people were in charge of sorting through these applications and selecting those to fill the slots: Director Brada Osborne of Lucas County Job and Family Services, Chairperson Susette Cowell of the Children’s Services Board of Trustees, and Robin Reese, LCCS’s former executive director. Randall Muth, the executive director of LCCS, didn’t see the task force as a threat.

Instead, he was on board and willing to work with the commissioners. According to him, the LCCS had considered making some previously classified information available for public access. It wasn’t necessarily information about Kimani, but details about the agency itself.

They ultimately decided against doing this since they didn’t want to jeopardize the investigation or the prosecution’s case against Darnell Jones. In their own words, when asked by ABC Action News about the agency’s current reputation in the community, he said, “I do want to hold off on that. I want to see and look at the plans and designs of the task force, and that might be the better way to have that conversation. Once this prosecution is over and with the help of the task force, I think we’ll be able to release our files and let the people judge how we responded prior to Kimani’s death. And I look forward to that day.”

Following the reports of her passing, the people of Toledo turned the site of her death into a memorial. They left flowers, candles, plushies, and balloons. Some of these balloons read “Happy Birthday” as she would have turned 14 years old only three days after her body was found. Some people brought spray paint and defaced one of the home’s walls.

It was marked with phrases such as “Her life mattered,” “You let them silence her,” and “CSB, where’s your accountability?” Patty Mazer, the spokesperson for the Toledo Public Schools, said in a statement after Kimani’s body was found, “The students and staff at Spring Elementary are saddened by the loss of their friend and classmate, Kimani Latig. Kimani will be remembered as being very personable and someone who got along well with others.”

Counselors and therapy dogs were brought in to help the Spring Elementary students, faculty, and staff through their grieving process. One of her former friends and classmates stood outside of the school with a sign that read, “We love you, Kimani.” The young girl named Ammani said of her friend, “Like, smart, and then she used to do her work. Sometimes she used to, uh, show me how to do some of the works inside my classroom ’cause I didn’t understand it. I seen some people crying and stuff. A lot of people crying and then people just like not talking how they usually talk, like talking kind of sad and low.”

According to court records, Darnell had admitted to his crimes. The indictment lists 15 counts against him, from evidence tampering to kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder. The case against him is the first Ohio death penalty case in over 10 years. Despite his confession, Darnell has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Defense attorneys David Klucas and Anne Baronas were appointed to represent Darnell in court. Attorney Klucas’s son is employed by the prosecutor’s office, and they were instructed by Judge Michael R. Golding not to talk about the case with each other during the court proceedings. Darnell was originally held on a $4 million bond, but the prosecution requested he have no bond at all in order to keep Darnell in police custody.

Attorney Klucas requested that the court reconsider and give the two parties time to determine a fair bond amount. Judge Golding granted the prosecution’s wish. Now, Darnell is currently being held without bond. In some of his early court appearances, Darnell was wearing what is known as a turtle suit. In jails and prisons, they are given to inmates at risk of hurting themselves or others.

It’s not a surprise given his previous attacks on people and trying to remove himself from this earth through the assistance of the police. Now, if you recall, Darnell said in his initial story that he and his cousin went to Dorothy’s house to watch Kimani. His cousin, Caleb Jones Dixon, wasn’t forgotten by the police.

In the beginning of May of 2025, it was revealed his home was searched shortly after Darnell’s was. Some evidence was confiscated along with phone and GPS records. In addition, Darnell’s mother, Linda, denied speaking to her son after Kimani went missing, though phone records are reported to dispute this. While Dorothy said she and Kimani lived alone, police seized phone records from a woman named Lisa White, who lived in Dorothy’s house and watched over Kimani when Dorothy was out.

Lisa White says she was out for the night Kimani went missing. These are fairly new developments, so our current scope of information is limited. At this time, we don’t know if anyone else in the family or associated with the family is of interest to the police. These new accounts came out in May of 2025, and we are currently recording on May 16th. So, this is very, very new.

After Kimani’s body was found, the city made the demolition of the abandoned property a priority. Preparations were made as early as April 8th. Word spread, and the community realized that Kimani’s memorial would be damaged. About 20 volunteers gathered everything and moved it to a new location.

It was on private property, but the owners gave permission to the volunteers. Moving the shrine took them about two hours, and the results were worth it. The house caught on fire again before officials could demolish the property. Authorities suspected arson, but an investigation is still ongoing.

Tiara and Dorothy went to court over Kimani’s funeral. They both believed themselves to have the sole right to plan the ceremony. Since Kimani lived with Dorothy for five and a half years and Tiara never visited the Latig home, the judge granted the rights to Dorothy. Kimani’s funeral was supposed to be held at the Brown Legacy Funeral Home, and the public was encouraged to donate if they wanted to help the family.

The donations totaled about $6,000, but these plans fell through, and the donations were transferred to the Dale-Riggs Funeral Home. LCCS hosted a memorial service on April 24th honoring not just Kimani’s life, but the lives of other children lost to violence and neglect. Kimani was referenced by name at this memorial, but did not have candles lit in her memory.

Randall Muth was in attendance. He spoke to those gathered in a speech. He said this observance serves as a reminder that it takes everyone in our community to keep kids safe. Unfortunately, hosting this annual memorial means that, if we’re here, we’re joined together lighting candles because our community has lost our children.