All three defendants have entered not-guilty pleas, and the allegations against them have not yet been proven in court.
But investigators have painted a deeply disturbing picture of what they believe happened to William before his death.
According to testimony presented in court, the young boy showed signs of extensive physical trauma.
A veteran homicide detective described William as having “a number of injuries that would indicate physical beatings, blunt force injuries.”
Investigators are also examining allegations that William was burned, choked and held underwater as part of sustained abuse.
The circumstances surrounding the boy’s death have become even more controversial as attention turns toward the household in which he was living.
According to reports examining the adults’ online activity, Evans, Rankin and Keaney were part of a polyamorous household and were involved in raising William together.
Social media posts attributed to William’s biological father, who has not been charged in connection with the boy’s death, reportedly described the group as a “polycule.”
One December 2023 post attributed to the father described introducing William to Rankin.
“The other night we did a family+polycule outing and my kiddo met my girlfriend, ‘K,’ [Kirby Rankin] for the first time,” Ellis wrote in December 2023, when William was about four years old.
Another post described William referring collectively to multiple adults as his mothers.
“kiddo has started calling for ‘mommies!’ when he needs a parent and any parent will do, and it absolutely melts my heart every time.”
Those posts have fueled a much broader online controversy surrounding the case.
Reports examining the family’s social-media history say the accounts contained discussions of transgender issues, left-wing politics and polyamory. Some reporting has also alleged that adults around William encouraged him to explore different identities and names while he was still extremely young.
Those allegations, however, should be distinguished from what prosecutors are actually alleging in the criminal case.
Authorities have not established political ideology, transgender activism or polyamory as a motive for William’s death. The murder prosecution centers on allegations that the child suffered prolonged and severe physical abuse.
That distinction matters even as the case inevitably becomes part of America’s wider cultural debate.
There were also warning signs before William died.
His grandparents have reportedly said the boy had told them he did not want to return to the home.
After noticing an injury, the grandparents became increasingly alarmed about his welfare. They reportedly sought legal assistance and eventually hired a private investigator as they attempted to determine what was happening.
They would not get the opportunity to remove William from the situation before tragedy struck.
Police were eventually summoned to the Oakley apartment, where William was discovered unresponsive.
He was already dead.
The case is now raising difficult questions about whether intervention could have come sooner and whether warning signs surrounding the child’s living situation were adequately recognized.
It has also generated a separate controversy over media coverage of the suspects.
Conservative commentators have criticized some reporting for emphasizing the defendants’ gender identities or preferred terminology while covering allegations involving the brutal death of a 7-year-old child.
But whatever political or cultural battles ultimately surround this case, the central issue remains what allegedly happened to William.
A vulnerable child depended on the adults around him for food, shelter, protection and care.
Instead, investigators say he endured repeated violence severe enough to leave numerous injuries on his body before he was ultimately discovered dead inside a closet.
William’s reported disabilities make the allegations particularly disturbing because they would have left him even more dependent on his caregivers and potentially less capable of protecting himself or escaping an abusive environment.
His grandparents’ account adds another agonizing dimension.
If their statements are accurate, William apparently tried to communicate that something was wrong before his death.
Now prosecutors will have to establish exactly what occurred inside that Cincinnati apartment and determine the responsibility of each defendant.
Evans, Rankin and Keaney remain accused of murder and child endangerment. Each is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Meanwhile, investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding William’s death, including the household environment and events leading up to the discovery of his body.
The cultural questions surrounding the adults may continue generating headlines, particularly as Americans debate parenting, gender ideology and the boundaries adults should observe when introducing young children to questions of identity.
But those debates should not obscure the victim at the center of the story.
William Michael Evans-Ellis was only seven years old.
And according to investigators, the home where he should have been protected became the scene of prolonged abuse that ended with a child dead and three adults facing murder charges.
