New Details Emerge About 2019 Child Abuse Investigation Involving Tyreek Hill

In early 2019, Tyreek Hill was already proof of just how far athletic talent can take you. Yes, he had pleaded guilty to domestic abuse in college, including signing a document in which he said he placed his pregnant girlfriend in a headlock. Yes, he was then dismissed by Oklahoma State, transferring to Division II West Alabama. And, yes, that’s why he dropped all the way to the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, where Kansas City selected him.

Hill grew into a key piece of Kansas City’s explosive offensive, helping the team to a Super Bowl victory. He even had his own trick play, the “Hill Mary.” Head coach Andy Reid once said, “I’m probably more proud of him for what he’s doing off the field than on the field.”

Then, in 2019, news broke of an investigation of possible child abuse involving Hill. Police and child welfare investigators in Kansas City were looking into how Hill’s oldest son, age 3 at the time, suffered a broken arm. The criminal investigation closed with no charges filed. The local district attorney said he believed a crime had occurred, but he had no way of proving who had done it. WHB 810, a radio station in Kansas City, later reported that anonymous sources “close to the investigation” said the injury appeared to be an accident.

No information from the Kansas Department for Children and Families investigation was ever released, which is typical for such cases. But some of those details are now in the public record, for the first time, due to what’s happening a South Florida courtroom.

Hill is currently the defendant in a civil trial brought by his estranged wife, Lakeeta Vaccaro, who says Hill physically abused her during their marriage. As part of her case, which is connected to their ongoing divorce proceedings, Vaccaro’s legal team deposed Hill’s former fiancée, Crystal Espinal. Espinal spoke under oath in the deposition about the 2019 DCF investigation, as well as the one done by law enforcement.

The full deposition will not be shown to jurors in the civil trial. But the entire deposition is a public record in Florida. That includes the discussion of the DCF case. Defector reached out to attorneys for Hill and Vaccaro; both declined to comment.

The narrative that follows is from the deposition, taken in July, in which notes and audio from the 2019 inquiries are read aloud and Espinal confirms their accuracy. They are not complete, but they do offer a glimpse into what triggered the child abuse cases, and what investigators found.

In 2019, Espinal was pregnant with twins and living with Hill in Overland Park, about 20 miles west of Kansas City’s stadium. On Feb. 28, she went to a local hospital with contractions. They were stress-induced, she said, because “I was in a stressful environment.”

Who specifically reported the suspected child abuse isn’t said. But one document, read aloud by an attorney in the deposition, had notes from a social worker that said a call came in on Feb. 28, the same day as the hospital visit. The same social worker wrote that Espinal told her the couple had disagreed all day. A social service activity log was also read aloud by a lawyer; as described, it said the couple’s son “expressed his arm was broken by his dad, Tyreek.” When asked if that is what she heard their son say, Espinal said, “Yes.”

Another note from a social worker, read aloud, said, “Crystal stated that Tyreek did break their son’s arm, and she knew if she said that, Tyreek would be furious and take it out on her. Crystal expressed that she is scared of—scared of what Tyreek will do. I can’t live like this. She continued to express concern for their safety.” When she was asked to recall this during her deposition, Espinal replied: “I don’t remember much of this time. I was in survival mode.”

Espinal said she didn’t see how her son broke his arm. But, as she recalled in the deposition, her son told her that Hill, his father, did it. (When asked by one of Hill’s attorneys later in the deposition, she also confirmed that her son said different things to different people about what happened.)

Later, another note from a social worker is read aloud. It said Espinal initially withheld some information from investigators because “she was worried about Tyreek’s reaction.” It continued: “Crystal expressed that he won’t talk to her about this, because he’s mad and blames her for the whole thing. Crystal repeated that she is scared and expressed that Tyreek keeps saying over and over, ‘I’ll make sure I get my son and kids.’ She expressed that she worries that he will be able to get custody of the kids because he has the resources to.”

The attorney then asked Espinal if that sounded like something she would have said to a social worker. After an objection from Hill’s lawyer, she replied, “Yes.”

Another note, read aloud, said Espinal stated that their son “is terrified of his father.”

“Crystal expressed that she doesn’t have a motive,” went another note. “She’s not out to get Tyreek.”

“She … is mad at herself for not coming forward with the truth the first time,” said one note, as read in the July deposition, “but expressed that the detective kept telling her they don’t have concerns.”

A criminal investigation was opened at the time. Bits and pieces of it do come up during the deposition, amid discussion of various documents. At one point, Espinal called one of the detectives on the case, and audio from the call is played. Throughout the deposition, the officer is referred to as Detective Reedy.

“You told Detective Reedy that Hill had said if he was going to go down, you were going to go down with him,” said attorney Paul Schwiep, who was there representing Vaccaro. “You heard that?”

“Yes,” she replied.

More audio is played, and Schwiep describes it as “Detective Reedy says he understands that you were a victim of domestic violence.” Was she a victim of domestic violence by Hill, Schwiep asked? “Yes,” she answered. Was this why she was afraid of being candid with the investigator? She said yes.

But at some point, Espinal began to have doubts about the criminal investigation.

“Crystal expressed hesitation about meeting with Detective Reedy again,” went one note, as read aloud. “Crystal expressed that Detective Reedy has also told her that he feels like she may be abusing the system to get back at Tyreek.”

Schwiep asked Espinal if she felt like the detective was trying to cover for Hill. She said she didn’t remember. All she could recall was that, at some point, that detective was no longer on the case.

Another note, also read aloud, said: “She—referring to you—expressed concern that Detective Reedy’s just telling Tyreek’s attorney everything she is saying. Tyreek tells her Detective Reedy said this and that. She expressed that he shared this information with Tyreek and his attorney before Friday’s meeting occurred. Why would you tell him this?”

Schwiep asked Espinal: “You know, so, again, did you feel like the detective was giving Hill, an NFL star, the benefit of the doubt?”

Espinal answered: “I can’t give you a positive answer on that one.”

Defector reached out to Overland Park police, asking them to comment on the quotes in the deposition, and they provided the following response: “We never employed a Detective Reedy with the Overland Park Police Department.” When Defector noticed that other court documents referred to the officer as Detective Reeder, we reached out again asking if the department employed an officer by that name who worked on the Hill case. This post will be updated if they respond.

A recording was made of her and Hill talking about what happened while they were in Dubai in 2019. That audio would be obtained and released by KCTV5 in Kansas City. In the audio, Hill can be heard telling Espinal, “You need to be afraid of me too, bitch.” The audio does comes up in the deposition.

In the deposition, there’s also talk about punching. Reading aloud from notes from a social worker, Schwiep said, referencing the couple’s oldest son: “He stated he is going to see his daddy tomorrow. When asked several questions, he stated his daddy wanted to punch him with his arm and then balled up a fist and pointed it towards his leg.”

Espinal was asked to confirm that’s what she saw that in the document, and said yes. A lawyer for Hill objected, and Schwiep continued. He asked Espinal: “You testified earlier that Hill would punch them?” Again, she said yes.

Espinal also was asked if she recalled her son, when asked to draw a picture of his father, drawing a fist. She said she didn’t remember that but guessed it was as part of his therapy.

Near the end of the deposition, Schwiep read from a document sent from a Kansas City–area hospital to investigators. It’s dated March of 2019. It lists the couple’s young son as a patient. It said, “He demonstrated that his father put his hands around his throat, concerns that for twisting his arm.” Espinal confirmed that was read correctly.

Schwiep read more from the document. It said the child had “numerous patterned loop marks on his bottom and bilateral legs.” The attorney asked if it was correct that, at this time, the child had loop marks consistent with being whipped with a belt. Espinal said yes. “These marks are consistent with being hit with a flexible object,” Schwiep read aloud. “His injuries are consistent with child abuse.” Again, Espinal confirmed the information being read aloud, while the lawyer for Hill objected.

Schwiep then read one last piece aloud:

“And then the bottom sentence on that same page says: ‘[Their son]’s previous left arm fractures are greenstick fractures. The greenstick fracture is caused by a bending force perpendicular to the bone. It is possible that a fall could result in this type of harm? There are—there are reports that [he] has disclosed that his dad twisted—twisted his arm. Based on the information provided, this injury is concerning for child physical abuse. Recommend further investigation.”

“Did I read that correctly?” he asked Espinal.

“Yes,” she replied.

During the deposition, Espinal said it was her first time seeing the report.

Near the conclusion of the deposition, an attorney for Hill talked to Espinal. She confirmed that no criminal charges were filed, that there had been conflicting evidence regarding who was responsible for the child’s injuries, and that at one point neither she nor Hill had custody of their son. And Espinal replied “correct” when asked to confirm that one document said she told investigators that she would deny there had been any domestic violence since 2014.

(In the deposition, Espinal said the couple currently have a parenting plan in place for their three children, but Hill didn’t visit his children much during his marriage to Vaccaro. She said he did visit them a few weeks before Espinal’s deposition, for about two hours.)

At the end, Espinal is asked if she wants to receive a copy of the transcript of her deposition. “I do not want it,” she tells the attorney. “No.”