The community honors Darnell Gray and advocates for justice six years after his death

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

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

Friday marked the sixth anniversary of Gray's death after the toddler was allegedly beaten and suffocated by his caretaker.

The event – ​​hosted by Missouri Missing and In the Gap Ministries – featured food, entertainment, a bounce house, rock art, guest speakers and a prayer service. Organizers of the event said the goal was to raise awareness of mental health resources available in the community and seek justice for Gray.

“We want to bring focus to mental illness in our community,” said Mary Williams-Coley of In the Gap Ministries. “We want our community to know that we are in the gap and have resources that you are not alone with. That was the catalyst for this being a will for him.”

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

Earley said Missing Missouri wants Gray's alleged killer to face consequences for his actions.

“And then we want to raise awareness and provide the resources to people who don't know 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 2018 death of four-year-old Gray.

Gray's body was found in the 2100 block of Louis Circle in October 2018, after several days of searching involving police and volunteers. According to court documents and previous reports, Givens initially told police he was missing and helped the search party find him.

Cole was one of the volunteers involved in the search for Gray.

“From the interview that she gave, we just assumed that he might still be alive and that we needed to get him home to know that he was out there,” Williams-Coley said. “I had a niece whose son was murdered and hit by a car. Just to hear the scream that came out of her when she saw her baby in a coffin, to know that a mother misses a baby. If you're a mother, you know that's a really close bond. And that made me want to get up and go out.”

According to court records, Givens was admitted to Fulton State Hospital on June 18. Givens was deemed unfit to stand trial on August 14, 2023 and was awaiting admission to the mental health unit. A DMH check must be filed by Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, court documents say. A case conference is scheduled for Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 9 a.m.

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

The boy was missing for six days before local law enforcement located him in the 2100 block of Louis Circle in Jefferson City. A grand jury indictment charged Givens with first-degree murder when it was discovered that Gray had been suffocated.