Staff sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood indicted for killing 2-year-old girl

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

A U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at the Fort Leonard Wood military base has been indicted by a federal grand jury for killing a two-year-old child.

Kevin Long, 40, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Tuesday, June 27. That indictment was unsealed and made public today following Long’s arrest and initial court appearance. Long remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing on July 6, 2023.

The federal indictment alleges that on Nov. 6, 2019, Long physically assaulted a two-year-old child, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe,” as part of a pattern and practice of assault against a child.

Long killed Jane Doe, the indictment says, by blunt force injuries in the perpetration of child abuse. Jane Doe was being cared for by Long and his wife in a day care she operated out of their home on Fort Leonard Wood.

Under federal law, murder committed in the perpetration of child abuse is murder in the first degree.

Long also is charged with one count of making a false statement. Long allegedly told authorities during the murder investigation that he was unaware of Army regulations that restricted the operation of a daycare at Fort Leonard Wood.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and Shannon T. Kempf. It was investigated by the United States Army – Criminal Investigation Division, the St. Robert, Mo., Police Department, and the Missouri Department of Social Services.