Community honors Darnell Gray, calls for justice six years after his death

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

People in Jefferson City gathered at Community Park Friday evening to honor the life of Darnell Gray.

Friday marked the six-year anniversary of Gray’s death after the toddler was allegedly beaten and smothered by his caregiver.

The event, hosted by Missouri Missing and In the Gap Ministries, featured food, entertainment, a bounce house, petroglyphs, guest speakers and a prayer service. Event organizers said the goal is to raise awareness of mental health care available in the community and get justice for Gray.

“We want to raise awareness of mental illness in our community,” said Mary Williams-Coley of In the Gap ministries. “We want our community to know that we stand in the gap and that we have the resources that you are not alone. That has led to this being a testament to him.”

“We want justice for him,” said Missouri Missing Treasurer Sean Earley.

Earley said Missing Missouri wants Gray’s alleged killer to face consequences for their actions.

“And then we want to raise awareness and make resources available to people who don’t realize what’s out there.” he said.

Quatavia Givens was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and abandonment of a corpse in connection with the death of 4-year-old Gray in 2018.

Gray’s body was found in October 2018 in the 2100 block of Louis Circle, after several days of searches involving police and volunteers. Givens initially told police he was missing and assisted the search for him, according to court documents and previous reports.

Cole was one of the volunteers who took part in the search for Gray.

“We thought based on the interview she gave that he might still be alive and that we needed to get him home,” Williams-Coley said. “I had a niece whose son was killed and run over by a car. Just to hear the scream that came from her when she saw her baby in a coffin, to know that a mother is missing a baby. If you are a mother, you know that this is a very close bond. And that’s why I got up and went outside.”

Givens was admitted to Fulton State Hospital on June 18, according to court records. Data was deemed incompetent was on trial on August 14, 2023 and had been waiting to go to the mental health unit. A DMH investigation must be filed by Saturday, January 18, 2025, according to court documents. A case review is scheduled for Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM.

Givens — who was previously described as a caregiver — was accused of killing Gray in October 2018. Court documents show she initially reported Gray as kidnapped or that he had run away from her home in the 1100 block of Buena Vista Street in Jefferson City.

The boy was missing for six days before being located by local police in the 2100 block of Louis Circle in Jefferson City. A grand jury indictment accused Givens of first-degree murder when it was revealed that Gray had been asphyxiated.