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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Sept. 14, 2009
INDEPENDENCE, MO., WOMAN SENTENCED TO LIFE ON FEDERAL KIDNAPPING CHARGE
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Dena Delores Riley, 43, Independence, Mo., has been sentenced to life in federal prison for kidnapping, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.
In June 2009, Riley pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping. In her plea, she admitted that on May 25, 2006, she and co-defendant Richard Davis kidnapped a minor child who they took from Kansas to Missouri.
According the court records:
– On May 22, 2006, the District Court of Jackson County, Mo., issued arrest warrants for Riley and Davis charging them with homicide in Missouri. On May 23, 2006, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri filed complaints charging Riley and Davis with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Federal arrest warrants were issued at that time.
– On May 24, 2006, Riley and Davis visited Davis’ half-sister, Jodee Bryant, at her home in Arcadia, Kan. Not knowing that Davis and Riley were wanted, Bryant invited them to stay the night.
– On May 25, 2006, a minor who was a member of the family was allowed to join Riley and Davis on a ride to McDonalds for lunch. Instead of going to the restaurant, Riley and Davis drove the child to Missouri for the purpose of engaging in sex with her. When the child’s parents realized the girl was missing, they called police.
– At 4:45 p.m. May 25, 2006, Riley placed a 911 call to the sheriff’s office in Lamar, Mo. She told the dispatcher that she and Davis were going to kill themselves. She said they were drinking and taking drugs. Shortly after that, officers arrested Riley and Davis and took the kidnapping victim to the hospital for treatment. The child had been injured during the sexual assault.
Welch commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Barton County (Mo.) Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Independence, Mo., Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken for their work on the case.
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