Report via USA Today -- Two days after a district attorney announced he would not press charges against Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill in a child abuse case, the investigation into Hill has been re-opened, Chiefs coach Andy Reid confirmed Friday.
This comes after Kansas City TV station KCTV5 on Thursday night aired segments of an 11-minute audio clip they say is a conversation between Hill and fiancée Crystal Espinal. In the clip, the two allegedly discuss how their 3-year-old son broke his arm. USA TODAY Sports is attempting to confirm the authenticity of the audio and the identities of the people in the recording.
“I didn’t do nothing,” says a man the TV station identifies as Hill in the clip.
“Then why does (redacted son’s name) say, ‘Daddy did it'?" asks the woman presumed to be Espinal. “Why? Why does (son’s name) say, ‘Daddy did it’?”
The man responds: “I don’t know. He says Daddy does a lot of things.”
In the audio clip, Hill allegedly tells Espinal she needs “to be terrified of me, too, bitch.” Espinal allegedly says their son says, “Daddy punches me” and that Hill has him “open up his arms and you punch him in the chest. And then if he gets in trouble, you get the belt out.”
The Overland Park, Kansas, police department received an anonymous call Thursday night after the audio was released, and police visited Hill and Espinal’s home around 8:30 p.m. A police spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports “she was fine." The spokesperson also said Hill and the child were not present, and the caller wished to remain anonymous. Police did not file a report from the visit.
Hill’s attorney, Trey Pettlon, declined comment to USA TODAY Sports when reached Friday afternoon by phone, citing confidentiality reasons. In multiple calls Friday to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe, a member of Howe’s office declined comment and said he was unavailable.
The Chiefs issued a statement Thursday night that they learned of the audio that night, along with the public.
“We were deeply disturbed and concerned by what we heard,” the statement read. “We have great concern for Crystal, we are greatly concerned for Tyreek, but our main concern is with the young child.”
Hill “will not take part in any team activities” while the Chiefs gather more information to “make the right decision,” the team said. General manager Brett Veach reiterated that stance in a Friday afternoon news conference introducing defensive end Frank Clark, whom Kansas City traded for this week.
Hill caught 162 passes for 2,662 yards and 19 touchdowns the last two seasons in Kansas City.
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