What did Thomas Gatewood do? Charges against Kansas man accused of killing 8-year-old daughter explored

Thomas Gatewood, a 51-year-old man from Kansas has been arrested and charged in connection to the tragic death of his eight-year-old daughter. The Office of the District Attorney said that Gatewood has been charged with r*pe, two counts of aggravated criminal s*domy, and one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

Trigger warning: The article contains references to child abuse and r*pe. Readers’ discretion is advised.

Prior to these charges, Gatewood was already facing charges including kidnapping and first-degree murder. An arrest warrant for Thomas Gatewood was issued on June 27, 2023, and law enforcement officials used FLOCK technology to find him.

Law enforcement officers found the unresponsive body of Gatewood's eight-year-old daughter on May 8, 2023, in her house, where she was later pronounced dead. Thomas Gatewood has currently been booked into the Sedgewick County Jail.

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Thomas Gatewood faces multiple charges including kidnapping, murder, r*pe, and criminal s*domy

The horrific incident can be traced back to May 8, when authorities received a 911 call from a residence in the 600 block of North Oliver. Responding officers arrived at the house, and found the unresponsive body of the eight-year-old victim. As mentioned earlier, she was soon declared dead. Later, cops arrested 51-year-old Thomas Gatewood on suspicion of being involved in his daughter’s death.

One of the family's neighbors, Josh Menke, said that it was the death was terrible news.

“I knew that somebody that had passed away over time. But only until [Wednesday] morning, I didn’t know it was a little girl,” Menke said.

According to Sedgwick County Jail records, Thomas Gatewood was charged with multiple charges, including first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated kidnapping. He was also charged with three counts of child abuse, two counts of aggravated child endangerment, and intimidation of a witness or victim. The suspect faced these official charges on his first court appearance. Court records have identified the young victim as Jeanetta Gatewood.

Recently, more gruesome charges have been filed against the 51-year-old suspect. These charges include those related to r*pe and s*xual assault of a minor. His bond has been set at $250,000, and his next court appearance was set for July 12, 2023.

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The suspect had prior records of being convicted of child abuse in 2009

The family's neighbor, Josh Menke added that he saw Gatewood in the front yard when the police were there and that he was crying. Menke noted that he believed that Thomas was "acting up a storm."

“There was another little girl out in the front yard as well and she was taken by a police car,” Josh said.

Another neighbor, who chose to stay unidentified, spoke about the tragic incident as well. They said that they were shocked and disappointed as they thought Thomas was a "good friend" of theirs.

The neighbor claimed to have known Thomas Gatewood personally and said that it was while his children were bickering that the older child hit the younger one with a book.

“And the little one fell and hit the metal desk. He went in there and asked them what they were clowning around about,” the neighbor said.

Wichita Police Department confirmed that law enforcement agencies including the EMCU as well as the Homicide detectives have been investigating the death of the young girl.

Investigation revealed that in 2009, the suspect was convicted of child abuse, that was reportedly related to his 19-month-old daughter. During the investigation, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services further took the girl and her brother into custody. Along with Thomas, his wife was also arrested for alleged child abuse.

As mentioned earlier, Thomas' next court appearance was set for July 12, 2023.