HAMILTON, Ohio – A bitter battle over custody of Kinsley Kinner's newborn brother – and the baby's name – is brewing between the parents of the slain 2-year-old girl.
Shortly after Rebekah Kinner, charged with her boyfriend in Kinsley's beating death, gave birth in the Butler County Jail's medical unit Monday, Kinsley's dad threw down the gauntlet.
“We will be getting a name change. I will have the baby by the end of the week,” Scott Senft, estranged from Kinner, told the Journal-News.
After Kinsley's death in December, Senft had said he fathered the boy and would fight for custody. He said he planned to name him Kingsley in honor of his sister. But Kinner struck first, naming the 8-pound, 5-ounce boy Wyatt Matthew Kinner, according to her attorney.
When Senft's family asked a Kinner family representative for pictures of the baby, the Kinner family sent them photos of another baby, according to a family friend.
On top of that, Kinner's attorney, Kyle Rapier, says her family will challenge Senft for custody even if DNA tests prove he is the father.
Kinner isn't sure who the father is, said Rapier. Kinner was ending a relationship with Senft and had a brief relationship with a friend before she found out she was pregnant, Rapier said.
Scott Senft (right) prepares a nursery in anticipation of winning a custody battle for Rebekah Kinner's new baby boy.
Senft said he had no doubt that he is the boy’s father and DNA tests should be done this week.
Senft and cohorts were hard at work painting and setting up the boy's nursery, complete with a mounted animal's head over the crib, a lasso and the words "Cowboy Up" spelled out of the wall. He posted several photos on his Facebook page.
Kinsley Kinner died from physical abuse at the hands of Kinner's boyfriend, Bradley Young, prosecutors said. They said Rebekah Kinsley did nothing to stop the abuse.
Young pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, two counts of endangering children and involuntary manslaughter.
Kinner pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and permitting child abuse.
Rapier told WCPO that Kinner gave testimony to a Butler County grand jury because she wants justice to be served, even if it hurts her own case.
"It's being spun that she was just standing there and did nothing, and that's not her side at all," Rapier said.
