Kimberly A. Sears and Robert F. Reinhold (West Virginia Department of Corrections)
A 26-year-old mother and a 22-year-old boyfriend were arrested in West Virginia earlier this month for allegedly beating the woman’s 3-year-old son to death, then claiming the boy suffered the fatal injury when he accidentally hit his head on a dresser drawer.
Kimberly A. Sears and Robert F. Reinhold have both been charged with one count each of child death of a child by a parent, guardian, or custodian by child abuse.
According to a news release, authorities responded about 6:27 p.m. on Dec. 5 to a 911 call regarding an unresponsive 3-year-old at a home located in the 400 block of Northridge Drive, about 100 miles southeast of Charleston, West Virginia.
The caller, later identified as Reinhold, told the dispatcher the child had fallen and struck his head, according to a copy of the arrest report obtained by Lootpress.
The child was rushed to the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center and then to Carillion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. The victim was admitted to the ICU in critical condition.
Reinhold, who was with the child when authorities first arrived, initially told police the toddler had fallen and hit his head on the carpeted floor inside the house while Sears was at work, Lootpress reported. Later, he allegedly claimed the boy’s “head may have hit the dresser drawer.” He was arrested and initially charged with one count of child abuse resulting in injury and malicious or unlawful assault.
Charleston, West Virginia, ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS reported Reinhold eventually told investigators that he saw the toddler trying to kiss his sister, so Reinhold pulled the boy off her and then shoved him in the chest, which caused him to fall and strike his head on the dresser drawer.
Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, the toddler succumbed to his injuries about a week later and was declared dead on Dec. 11, police said. That day, authorities in Roanoke, Virginia, arrested Sears on a warrant from Greenbrier County and charged her in connection with her son’s death. She was extradited to West Virginia and booked into the Southern Regional Jail on Tuesday, records show.
Following the toddler’s death, the abuse charges against Reinhold were dropped and upgraded to death of a child, which carries a sentence of 15 years to life in a state correctional facility.
An interview with Sears reportedly revealed that she was aware that Reinhold physically abused her son, with documented injuries that she was aware of being suffered by the boy since at least June of 2023. She confirmed that the state Department of Health and Human Resources had been investigating the allegations of child abuse since September 2023.
When questioned about the 3-year-old’s injuries, Reinhold allegedly claimed that the boy had attempted to kiss his sister, which forced Reinhold to pull the victim away and shove the toddler in the chest, WCHS reported. He said the shove caused the boy to fall, which is when he likely struck his head on the dresser drawer.
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