Thomas Gatewood: Wichita father found guilty of killing 8-year-old daughter and holding other girl captive

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WICHITA, KANSAS: A 52-year-old father from Wichita entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday, March 7, to charges that he killed one of his two young daughters in May 2023 after allegedly abusing them both horribly on multiple occasions.

Eight-year-old Jeanetta Gatewood's heart broke from the stomping she had to endure in her last moments. Prosecutors claim the girls, who were 8 and 9 years old when their father was taken into custody, suffered months of torture in 2022 and 2023.

Thomas Gatewood kept his daughters private

Despite the fact that his daughters had lived at 626 N. Oliver since 2018, Thomas Ross Gatewood kept them so private that their neighbors were unaware of his family, according to police and prosecutors.

Since their mother moved out in May 2021 for health reasons, he has been the girls' only caregiver. 

Prosecutors claim that Gatewood also took care to keep the girls away from locations where the abuse might be discovered and reported: they had never attended school and had never visited a dentist or doctor since they were born, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.

They were frequently kept inside their rooms by latches secured with screwdrivers, and they were not permitted to play outside.

At his preliminary hearing last fall, testimony revealed that Gatewood told his daughters they could be poisoned by fentanyl or contract Covid-19, which made them fear the outside world.

This plea was based on facts read aloud in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors claim that in order to hide the abuse, he locked them inside the house. On May 8, 2023, Jeanetta passed away following a particularly vicious attack at their east-side home, which was close to Central and Oliver, by her father.

Jeanetta Gatewood was brutally beaten by her father

Prosecutors said that although many of the wounds were in the healing phase, they failed to heal properly in the absence of medical attention. The nine-year-old sister of Jeanetta was also subjected to months of captivity and brutal assault.

After being taken from Gatewood's care by police, X-rays of her body revealed that her teeth, ribs, pelvis, and spine were all broken. Since she is a minor and to preserve her privacy, her name has not been disclosed.

Only after Jeanetta stopped breathing after the stomping incident on May 8 did Gatewood call 911, which is when police first learned about the abuse. At 7:36 p.m., her death was declared.

On Thursday, Gatewood's agreement to enter a not-guilty plea to nine charges, including one count of first-degree felony murder, three counts of aggravated battery, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated child endangerment, and one count of aggravated intimidation of a witness.

The charges were brought against Gatewood less than a year ago. For telling his 9-year-old daughter to lie to the police about how her sister died, he was hit with that final charge.

He instructed the girl to claim that she killed her sister and that Jeanetta was hit by her with a hardcover book during a fight, which caused Jeanetta to fall and hit her head on a des.

Attorney's office plans to recommend 25-year sentence for murder charge

Prosecutors claim that he threatened to beat her if she ever told the truth. The girl eventually opened up about the severity of the abuse and how her sister actually passed away after being placed in protective custody.

Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and accompanied by a defense lawyer on either side, Gatewood answered questions from Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey Goering with a plethora of one-word affirmative responses, including whether he had discussed the plea with his lawyer, understood the charges, and was willing to proceed.

Prior to his jury trial, which was supposed to begin on Monday, March 11, he entered the plea. Prosecutors agreed to drop multiple counts in Gatewood's ongoing criminal case as well as two in the murder and abuse case.

The Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office intends to recommend a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for the murder charge and up to 20 1/2 years for the other convictions when he is sentenced.

The defense attorneys for Gatewood have less to say. The judge may give more prison time than what is desired by either party. The date of sentencing is still pending.

Gatewood and Brandy Gatewood, the mother of the girls, were previously charged with crimes in Oklahoma for the 2009 abuse of two of their other children.

Police in Minnesota also looked into the Gatewood family in 2006 following the death of their infant son.