Woman accused in 2018 death of child denied bond request

Quatavia Givens
Quatavia Givens

A Rolla judge Tuesday denied a request by defense lawyers to place a Jefferson City woman charged in the 2018 death of a 4-year-old boy on pre-trial release again.

According to online court records, Judge William Hickle denied the request, which was filed in February, for Quatavia Givens to have a modified bond in her case.

"The court determines that no combination of non-monetary conditions and monetary conditions will secure the safety of the community," Hickle wrote. "Defendant shall be detained pending trial. Bond is denied."

At a Wednesday afternoon hearing on Givens' case before Hickle, Givens' lawyers and prosecutors said they were still going through evidence in the case and had no timeline for when they might be ready for trial.

It's expected the trial would last two weeks with a Pulaski County jury to hear the case. Whether they would be brought to Cole County to hear the case or the trial would be held in Pulaski County has yet to be determined.

Givens' lawyers noted the jury will have to come up with a sentencing recommendation if Givens is convicted since she has no prior convictions.

In February, Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson filed paperwork with the court indicating he would not seek the death penalty against Givens, meaning the most she could face would be life in prison, if convicted.

Givens, 29, was the caretaker of Darnell Gray, who was found dead in October 2018. Givens was indicted by the Cole County Grand Jury on Aug. 25 on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse or neglect, endangering the welfare of a child and abandonment of a corpse in connection with Gray's death. Hearings before a grand jury are closed to the public; Thompson would not say why he upgraded the charge or what specific evidence was found to warrant the new charge. He only said the grand jury found there was enough evidence to indict her on the upgraded charge.

Givens was initially charged with child abuse, but prosecutors filed a superseding indictment from the grand jury in October 2019, charging her with second-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty each time she has been charged in this case.

Givens' lawyers had reiterated arguments they had been made in earlier court appearances -- Givens showed no signs of not following the conditions she was supposed to when she had been on pre-trial release after she was originally charged. They also argued Prosecutor Locke Thompson has shown prosecutorial vindictiveness in the case, escalating the charge from second-degree murder to first-degree murder, which they said only indicated a desire to change judges or re-litigate the bond.

Her attorneys noted Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem ordered Givens could be placed on bond in 2019, finding she was not a danger to the community. Givens spent 22 months in the pre-trial program before being picked up in August 2021 at her workplace in St. Charles when she was indicted on the first-degree murder charge.

The pre-trial program allows defendants in criminal cases to be out of jail but on continuous GIS monitoring while they await their trial. They must also regularly check in with the pre-trial office.

Although officials with the program testified they had no problems staying in contact with her while she was a part of their program, Thompson said Hickle should take note the check-ins with Givens by the pre-trial office were primarily done by phone and not in person.

Hickle also denied the request by Givens' lawyers that the first-degree indictment against her be dismissed. They had argued court documents indicated there have been changes in the charges Givens faces, but the facts prosecutors have given for filing the charges haven't changed since 2018.

Prosecutors said Gray was injured while Givens babysat him in Jefferson City. She reported him missing Oct. 25, 2018, and stated he might have been abducted. Authorities found Gray's body a week later. An autopsy indicated he died of blunt force trauma and smothering.

For the first-degree murder indictment, Carver said, Thompson got a new expert to look at the autopsy done by the Boone County Medical Examiner's Office and the expert "completely agreed with what the medical examiner concluded."

This was part of Given's defense claim regarding prosecutorial vindictiveness, saying each time they've been close to being ready for trial, prosecutors have increased the charges against their client despite her meeting the legal conditions she was supposed to every time.

The pattern, they said, appeared to show prosecutors did not want Beetem to hear the case, having taken issue with him allowing Givens to be released on bond.

After the August first-degree murder indictment, the case was assigned to Cole County Judge Cotton Walker. He denied Givens bond in September and shortly after granted a change of judge request from Givens' defense team. The case was sent to Beetem for assignment. Thompson later filed a motion to the Missouri Supreme Court for the special judge as all judges in the Cole County circuit recused themselves from hearing the case. The high court sustained Thompson's motion and chose Hickle to hear the case.