Opinion ID: 4556341
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Esme K.

Text: {¶ 10} On the afternoon of March 7, 2009, 13-year-old Esme K. went jogging around a reservoir near her home. She was wearing a purple wristwatch and carrying her iPod. {¶ 11} Later that day, Esme’s mother called 9-1-1 to report that Esme was missing. Responding to the call, police searched an abandoned house and a wooded area near the reservoir. Two officers spotted Kirkland sitting under a tree. They saw knives protruding from his pocket, so they disarmed and searched him. In his pockets they found a purple watch and an iPod with Esme’s name on it. Esme’s mother identified these items as Esme’s. {¶ 12} Kirkland initially gave a false name and claimed he had found the watch and iPod. After police efforts to confirm his identity failed, Kirkland gave 3 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO his real name. As the search for Esme continued, police took Kirkland to the station. {¶ 13} Searchers found Esme’s body in the woods. Her body was nude except for socks and shoes and was seated, with her back up against a fallen tree branch, legs apart. Her genitals, inner thighs, and left hand had been severely burned. {¶ 14} An autopsy indicated that Esme had been killed by ligature strangulation. The large number of petechiae (ruptured blood vessels) on her face was consistent with a long struggle, possibly eight to ten minutes. Hemorrhaging underneath her scalp showed that she had been struck on the back of the head. {¶ 15} There was also evidence of premortem trauma to Esme’s vagina and anus, possibly caused by an attempt to penetrate those areas with a penis or foreign object. DNA consistent with Esme’s was found on Kirkland’s hands, penis, and underwear.