Prosecutors Announce Significant Development in Tyreek Hill Abuse Probe: 'It Is Not an Active Investigation'
The child abuse investigation involving suspended Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill is no longer active, prosecutors say.
“It is not an active investigation,” Johnson County, Kansas, District Attorney Steve Howe told The Kansas City Star in an email Friday. “As in any case, if we receive additional evidence we reevaluate.”
Hill was part of an investigation by Overland Park Police over alleged battery of a juvenile in March.
The juvenile in question was Hill’s 3-year old son, who had a broken arm.
On April 24, Howe held a news conference saying his office had reviewed all the evidence but declined to file charges against the wide receiver.
On Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill — that the DA’s office isn’t actively investigating anymore has no affect on the NFL’s investigation into the case.
The league is still awaiting the go-ahead from those investigating it for the Kansas Dept. of Children and Familes to interview Hill.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 7, 2019
“We are deeply troubled by this situation and are concerned about the health and welfare of the child in question. We believe that a crime has occurred,” Howe said at the time, according to KMBC.
“However, the evidence in this case does not conclusively establish who committed this crime.”
But one day later, an audio recording emerged of an alleged conversation between Hill and his fiancée, Crystal Espinal. A woman identified as Espinal says in the recording that their son told her, “Daddy did it,” when asked about the injury.
“He says Daddy does a lot of things,” a man identified as Hill responded to Espinal.
“A 3-year-old is not going to lie about what happened to his arm,” Espinal responded.
Perhaps the most damning part of the conversation came when Espinal noted that their son was terrified of Hill.
“You need to be terrified of me too, b—-,” Hill retorted.
The Chiefs suspended Hill after this audio recording became public.
“We were deeply disturbed and concerned by what we heard,” the team said in a statement.
“We have great concern for Crystal, we are greatly concerned for Tyreek, but our main concern is with the young child.
In light of that recording, the district attorney’s was reported to have reopened the case.
But now, it appears that the investigation is over — or at least not active.
And there is some question as to whether the case ever reopened at all after the audio came out.
Howe did not respond when The Star asked if the case had ever been reopened.
Hill’s attorney, Trey Pettlon, told the Star that the criminal case had been closed for a while.
“It’s my understanding the criminal investigation has been closed for quite some time now and obviously there’s been some misinformation about that, but it is closed,” Pettlon said.
Pettlon had previously sent a letter to the NFL disputing the child abuse allegations and the claims made in the recording.
The NFL is planning to interview Hill for its own investigation, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Star.
But the league is waiting for permission from the Kansas Department for Children and Families, who is conducting its own investigation.
“There is a court proceeding still going on involving CPS, Child Protection Services, and we will not interfere with that,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in May.
“The priority is this young child and so we will obviously be cooperative with whatever the court wants there. We are prepared to go ahead and have an interview whenever we have the permission to.”
As for Hill’s status with the Chiefs, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero expects him to be back with the team.
No signs Tyreek Hill’s status changes before next week’s minicamp, but barring further developments, there‘s every reason to believe he’ll be back with the #Chiefs for training camp. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/a1A0y7VgYh
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 7, 2019
“Now my understanding is there are no signs as of now that Tyreek Hill will rejoin the team or that his status will change prior to next week’s minicamp,” Pelissero said Friday on NFL Network.
“However, barring any further developments, there is every reason to believe that Tyreek Hill will be back with the Chiefs before training camp begins late next month.”
Of course, that could change pending the results of the NFL’s investigation, Pelissero added.
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