Tyreek Hills 3-year-old son told his mother the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver punched him, according to a recording obtained and published Thursday evening by the local television station KCTV-5.
Daddy did it, the boys mother, Crystal Espinal, could be heard saying, paraphrasing the boy. He is terrified of you.
Hill responded, according to the recording: You need to be terrified of me, too, b—-.
The television station said the more than 11-minute long recording was made while the couple walked through Dubai International Airport. The Star could not independently confirm Thursday it was Hill and Espinal on the recording.
KCTV-5 posted portions of the recording to its website.
According to the television station, the recording captured Hill and Espinal discussing what they told investigators and arguing about who ratted them out. In it, the couple accused each other of using a belt on their son. Espinal appeared to say she told investigator her son gets whooped.
I didnt do nothing, Hill responded.
The television station said it gave all parties involved time to respond before publishing the audio during its 6 p.m. broadcast.
News surfaced in mid-March that Overland Park police took two reports at Hills Johnson County home, one for battery and the other for child abuse and neglect. The police reports, dated March 5 and March 14, involved a juvenile.
Steve Howe, the Johnson County district attorney, held a news conference Wednesday and announced the criminal investigation involving Hill and Espinal who is pregnant with twins was closed and he would not file charges.
Howe said the child had been hurt and he thinks a crime occurred, but he could not prove who committed the crime. He declined to comment on what crime his office thought occurred.
We are deeply troubled by this situation and are concerned about the health and welfare of the child in question, Howe said.
The television station Thursday said Howe now had the recording. Howes office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Star.
Hills attorney declined to comment on KCTV-5s report Thursday.
The Kansas Department of Children and Families has an ongoing child protection case focused on the child. In the recording aired Thursday, Espinal appeared to say she defended him to investigators.
I rode for you against that detective and the CPS people, she said.
Espinal recalled a time their son was crying. Hill responded by telling the child to shut up, she said, according to the audio.
