For Immediate Release

July 31, 2024

An Independence man and woman have been charged with failing to protect a toddler infant from substantial risk and resulted in the death of the child, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.

Moses Lee Bass and Destiny Leeann Randle each faced the class A felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the 1st Degree.*

According to court records filed late last night, on the morning of July 29, 2024, police officers in Independence responded to a call that an infant had fallen from an apartment window several stories above the ground. Officers arrived as fire crews were conducting life-saving measures on the child, located on the ground with children's toys. The father of the child told police he had left the child with his girlfriend and gone to take the dog out. Defendant Randle told police she was in a bedroom in the apartment and the window that the child fell from was closed and secured. She told police she knew the window did not properly lock. She and Bass usually secure it with a blue pole, she stated. When officers checked the room they saw no blue pole. Three children were placed in custody of Children's Division and transported to the Child Protection Center for forensic interviews. Defendants told police they knew of the safety hazards with the window that couldn't be kept closed or locked.

Prosecutors requested a $100,000 bond.

For more information, contact:

Michael Mansur 

Director of Communication 

Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office 

Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor 

(816) 881-3812 

(816) 674-3954 

mmansur@jacksongov.org 

https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com

*Charges are only accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or pleads guilty.