Nikole Babb, nbabb@cherryroad.com
The Rose Hill Police Department announced this afternoon that the adoptive parents of 6-year-old Kennedy Schroer, who was also known by her birth name of Natalie Garcia, were arrested.
Crystina Elizabeth Schroer, a 50-year-old woman, and Joseph Shane Schroer, a 53-year-old male from Rose Hill, were the adoptive parents arrested in the case.
Crystina has been taken into custody on charges of murder in the first degree, aggravated kidnapping, four counts of torture/child abuse, felony theft under $25,000, four counts of forgery, Medicaid fraud, and desecration of a corpse.
Joseph was taken into custody on charges of fount counts of torture/child abuse, liability for crimes of another, interference with Law Enforcement, felony theft under $25,000, and Medicaid fraud.
The investigation began on September 10, 2024, around 7:29pm when a call was made to Butler County Emergency Communications for a mental health crises. During their response, officers learned of the possibility of human remains being buried in the backyard of the little girl’s last known residence of 1406 North Meeker Court in Rose Hill. It wasn’t until September 11 in the early morning hours that the Rose Hill Police Department issued a search warrant on the property and worked hand in hand with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to begin the search for the mentioned remains.
Through cadaver dogs loaned through Sedgwick County Emergency Management, several areas of the property were alerted to for remains, but no exact spot was completely positive. One location was chosen for a forensic dig and hours after, about 23 inches deep, the decayed remains of 6-year-old Kennedy Jean Schroer/Natalie Garcia were found in a trash bag. A positive identification was made through DNA testing on September 27th.
The Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center began the postmortem investigation on September 12 and completed the report on November 20, 2024. Through the investigation, professionals found that Natalie’s cause of death was likely suffocation.
“Sometimes investigations are complex and require patience, particularly in light of the severity of the suspected crimes,” said the agency in a release. “We shared in that sense of urgency. We know that there has been a strong desire in our community for answers, but the specific needs of our investigation would not permit us to provide them in detail before now.”
The agency stated that through the investigation, several agencies were involved from the beginning, including six detectives from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office who assisted during the dig, neighborhood canvasing, initial interviews, and organizing information as it came in; the Andover Police Department detectives assisting with initial interviews of people with knowledge of this house but not living in the immediate area; the Butler County Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigations from the Wichita Satellite Office, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit of Quantico, VA., Internal Revenue Service, Kansas Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Division, Department of Children and Families investigation division, Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit, and Civilian experts in the fields of trauma and abuse.
“Please know that we conducted this investigation with the time, attention and seriousness that it required,” said the agency. “We assessed that there was not an ongoing risk to public safety during the investigation and that making arrests only after the investigation concluded was the necessary course of action to ensure the best possible outcome.”
They also noted that Detective Missy Tharp and other members of the the Rose Hill Police Department have clocked over 2,000 working hours into the investigation on the case while the assisting agencies put in sever hundreds of their own hours.
“Natalie has always been the focus of this investigation, and we believe we can now tell her story accurately,” said the Rose Hill Police Department.
The Times-Gazette would like to extend their condolences to Natalie’s family during this time. The loss of an innocent and precious child in any matter affects the community as a whole and leaves loved ones in grievance for an insurmountable amount of time.
