Esme Kenney

CINCINNATI -- A convicted sex offender accused of killing a 13-year-old girl could be connected to at least two other Cincinnati homicides

Sunday, the family of Esme Kenney confirmed that police had found her body after a search that ran into the early morning.

A family member released a statement saying, "Our hearts are broken by this tragic end to a wonderful young spirit. We would like to thank everyone for their support, and ask that donations be made in Esme Kenney’s name to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children."Detectives arrested and charged Anthony Kirkland, 40, in connection with Kenney’s death. In court Monday, Kirkland pleaded not guilty.News 5 has learned that Kirkland was kicked out of a halfway house one week prior to Kenney's disappearance, and had two outstanding warrants for his arrest when he was taken into custody early Sunday morning.Kirkland is a Tier 1 sex offender who was convicted of importuning in 2007 and sentenced to one year in prison.

According to Cincinnati police, Kirkland got into a fight with another resident at the Volunteers of America halfway house on Friday, Feb. 27.Police said Kirkland didn’t have any outstanding warrants at the time and the other person involved in the altercation did not want to press charges, so Kirkland was expelled from the facility and put out on the street.The Volunteers of America said their policy is to notify the authorities when someone is kicked out the next business day, which they did the following Monday morning.But by that point, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department said Kirkland had been involved in the stabbing of a man on Ridgeway Avenue and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.Officers said he allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home and attacked the man that was with her with a pair of scissors, stabbing him 10 times.When Kirkland’s parole officer was notified of his release on Monday, March 2, the officer began looking for Kirkland since he had not registered with a new address.Wednesday, March 4, the sheriff’s department issued a second arrest warrant for failure to register with his parole officer.Thursday, officers with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team began searching the streets of Cincinnati for Kirkland, fearing that he might strike again.Then on Friday, March 5, Kirkland was accused of threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend and her 3-year-old son. He was charged with abduction, domestic violence, aggravated menacing and violation of a protection order.

Kenney was last seen at about 3:45 p.m. Saturday jogging along Winton Ridge Lane.Officers said they didn’t believe the girl was in any danger until they found Kirkland near the search area along Winton Road."Once we discovered this person of interest, we immediately went to a critical missing, and that's when we initiated the Amber Alert process," Lt. Mark Briede said.

Winton Hills police said they located Kenney's body at about 3:30 a.m. in a wooded area near the 5900 block of Winton Road.Crime scene investigators continued to collect evidence well into Sunday evening to piece together what happened the afternoon Kenney disappeared.Part of the reason the evidence collection is took so long is that the crime scene is about 30 yards off the road in thick underbrush.

Kirkland's Violent History

Investigators are now saying that Kirkland could be a serial killer.Cincinnati police said that Kenney’s death could be the latest dark chapter in a string of homicides that date back more than 20 years.Detectives said that an investigation into his past brought forth a violent history.In 1987, when he was 18, Kirkland confessed to assaulting a woman, dousing her with lighter fluid and setting her on fire. She later died and he served 16 years in prison for her death.News 5 has also learned that Kirkland was a suspect in the 2006 homicides of 14-year-old Casonya Crawford and 45-year-old Mary Jo Newton.Investigators said that both bodies were badly burned to cover up possible sexual assault.Sources have told News 5 that Kenney’s body was also burned below the waist.In addition to those 2006 homicides, police said there are other cold cases police will take a look at to see if Kirkland could be responsible for them as well.

Friends In Mourning

 

Kenney was enrolled as a seventh-grader at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. She was a dual major in vocal and instrumental music. She performed in the choir and was a cellist in the junior high orchestra.Administrators said that they are devastated by the news. Counselors were on hand at the school Monday morning."We need more people in this world who are happy and friendly and like to believe the best in people, which is terribly sad given the circumstances,” Kenney’s friend Lucas Wozinak said. "She was willing to be friendly to anyone, which only adds to the irony and tragedy of this.”Tributes to Kenney are covering the walls at her school as her friends and classmates poured their feelings onto paper."There was a lot of hugging that went on today. A lot of hugging,” SCPA principal Dr. Johnathan Futch said.

Murderer: