An 18-year-old accused in the death of a 2-year-old girl was officially charged with murder Friday morning.
Assault charges against Brian Crabtree, 18, were upgraded to murder after a motion by Fayette County prosecutors. Fayette District Judge Julie M. Goodman set a new bond of $250,000.
Crabtree is accused of the assault, rape and sexual abuse of 2-year-old Katelynn Stinnett on Nov. 25 in a Lexington apartment off Versailles Road. She died from her injuries earlier this week.
Crabtree previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled Friday morning, but it was postponed until Dec. 12 because a public defender had just been appointed to represent Crabtree and he had not yet discussed the case with him.
At a small mobile home park tucked off Bryan Station Road in southern Bourbon County, many people knew 2-year-old Katelynn Stinnett.
They also know the teen accused of killing her.
According to police, Brian Crabtree, 18, raped and threw the girl on the floor of a Lexington apartment on Nov. 25. The toddler died from her injuries on Wednesday.
Crabtree was watching Katelynn and a 3-year-old brother while their father was at work, said Chris Baker, the uncle of Katelynn’s father, Daniel Stinnett.
Crabtree was “a quiet, well-mannered kid, but he showed what he was,” Baker said.
Crabtree is scheduled to appear Friday morning in Fayette District Court. He is already charged with assault, rape and sexual abuse, and has pleaded not guilty to those charges. The Fayette County Attorney’s Office plans to upgrade the assault charge to intentional murder.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled, but Crabtree could choose to waive the hearing and have the case sent to a grand jury. He is being held at the Fayette County jail and declined a request for an interview.
Miles away in Bourbon County at the Turfland mobile home park where he lived until recently, a brother declined to give his name, but said Brian Crabtree is innocent.
An arrest citation for Crabtree indicates he gave a recorded confession to police.
Crabtree grew up in a mobile home near a dead end and attended Bourbon County High School.
In recent weeks, Crabtree moved to a trailer on an adjacent street where he was staying with Daniel Stinnett, who was caring for Katelynn and a young son. Stinnett’s wife has not been near the family for several months, neighbors said.
Baker said Stinnett is reeling from his daughter’s death. “He’s a basket case right now,” Baker said.
Stinnett had lived for a time in the mobile home park years before with relatives, and the two men knew each other, neighbor Tim White said.
“Everybody kind of knows everybody,” he said.
For the few weeks he lived with Stinnett, Crabtree cared for the children while Stinnett was at work, Baker said.
White said that a relative of Daniel Stinnett’s had recently asked Crabtree about some bruises on Katelynn. He said Crabtree responded, “No, I’d never do nothing like that. I love that baby.”
The week before Thanksgiving, Stinnett told neighbors that he was moving to a Lexington apartment that he described as bigger and a better environment than the beige and brown trailer.
Baker said he’s not sure why his nephew and Stinnett moved out of the trailer after living there such a short time.
The two men and two children lived at the Bradford Apartments, off Versailles Road, just four days before Katelynn was injured, a woman in the management office said.
The 3-year-old boy is now in foster care, Baker said.
Vikki Franklin, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, declined to say whether the cabinet had investigated any complaints involving Katelynn Stinnett or anyone in her family.
White said that, if Crabtree is guilty of the charges against him, “I hope he never sees the light of day.”
Funeral arrangements for Katelynn Stinnett are pending.
For more information, check with Ellison Funeral Home, (606) 549-2111.
Herald-Leader Staff Writer Beth Musgrave contributed to this story. Reach Steve Lannen at (859) 231-1328 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1328.
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