KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Independence, Mo., resident Dena Delores Riley, 42, entered a plea of guilty Monday in the kidnapping of a 5-year-old child from Kansas.
On May 22, 2006 the District Court of Jackson County, Mo., issued arrest warrants for Riley and co-defendant Richard Davis in connection with a homicide in Missouri. Attempting to avoid arrest the two fled to Arcadia, Kan., where they stayed with Davis' half-sister Jodee Bryant. On May 25, 2006 Bryant allowed the 5-year-old girl, a member of the family, to go to McDonald’s with the defendants. The defendants took the child to Missouri with the intent to engage in illegal sexual acts with her.
At 4:45 p.m. Riley contacted police dispatchers in Lamar, Mo., and informed them that Riley and Davis planned to take their own lives. Riley informed the police that the two were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Police captured the two defendants and took the child to the hospital for examination. The child sustained injuries during the sexual assault.
In a press release issued from U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch, Riley could face life in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2009.
Richard Davis is currently on death row awaiting lethal injection. Davis was convicted of first degree rape and murder of Marsha Spicer and Michele Huff Ricci in 2006.
