Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Ukiah Man Refuses to Attend Arraignment to be Charged for Murder of One-Year-Old Infant

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Edward “Two Feathers” Steele [Mugshot provided by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office]

Edward “Two Feathers” Steele, the man suspected of abandoning a toddler and an infant along a Ukiah railroad track leading to the death of a one-year-old, has been formally charged with felony murder in the second degree. 

Yesterday, Steele was ordered to stand in front of Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke who was going to present the charges against him but refused to comply declining to enter the video conference room at the Mendocino County jail used so inmates could remotely attend hearings.

A criminal complaint filed by the Mendocino County District Attorney charges Steel with three criminal counts including felony murder in the second degree. He allegedly “willfully and unlawfully with malice aforethought” killed a one-year-old child, referred to as K.A.

Steele faces two felony charges of child endangerment placing both one-year-old K.A. and two-year-old U.A. in circumstances that would cause great bodily harm “causing the child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering.”

For both counts of felony child endangerment, Steele also faces special allegations of personally inflicting great bodily injury on a child under five years old which acts as an enhancement that could add 4-6 years to a felony case.

A memorial for the young boy allegedly abandoned by Edward “Two Feathers” Steele who would die [Picture by Matt LaFever]

Steele stands accused of abandoning two children on the Ukiah railroad tracks near Brush Street on August 3, 2022. A one-year-old would die and his two-year-old brother would require hospitalization due to heat-related issues. Steele was captured on August 4, 2022, at the Hopland Rancheria after tribal members reported his location to law enforcement.

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In California, second-degree murder stands apart from first-degree primarily due to the concept of premeditation. Even if someone intended to kill another during the heat of a moment, that does not mean the crime was planned in advance. Another circumstance that can fall under this auspice is a suspect who demonstrates an extreme indifference to human life. 

Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster filed what is known as a peremptory challenge against Judge Carly Dolan, the judge initially assigned to Steele’s case. He asserts in a document filed with the court that Judge Dolan, “is prejudice against plaintiffs or their attorney or the interests of Plaintiffs or the attorneys so that Plaintiffs cannot or believe they cannot have a fair and impartial trial before such a judge.

It looks as if the court will reattempt Steele’s arraignment tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Failing to appear at an arraignment could result in a separate felony charge. 


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11 COMMENTS

  1. The fence is clean, all memorial stuff removed, sanitized. All that is left is the junk the homeless left inside the fence area. Just children of poverty, no interest to the powers that be so sweep them under the rug of Mendocino County as they build a new court house to more effectively crush the homeless.

    • Wow, what was the point in removing the memorial? Makes you wonder about our law enforcement. Incredibly callous attitude. Makes you want to cry, but we all have to somehow “get over it” and plod on. It seems very few in this area want to get involved or even care. This was a major crime, hideous and nefarious, but we just act like everything is normal.

      • Yes, much more to the point would be why did law enforcement hand the kids over to a person who is well-known to them as a serial offender, jail attendee? By giving him her purse, they gave him permission to do whatever with the kids. Pure neglect.

      • Their mother being in jail definitely had something to do with what happened to her kids. I can only assume that she is a real winner.

      • How do you know the mother had nothing to do with it. She reported them missing eight hours later. And did she really have a babysitter?

  2. There is a possibility it was premeditated murder (1st degree). For one thing, there was no “heat of the moment”, as the children were left coldly to die. For another, he could very well have headed down there from the motel with the sole purpose of leaving them there to spite the mother. That is premeditation. The fact that his leaving the motel coincided so perfectly with the mother leaving jail could indicate that he left the motel so they would be gone before she got there. Also, she probably tried to call him many times to find the kids and it would appear he never answered. That would indicate a prior knowledge of what was going to happen with the kids. It is painful to write about much less comprehend, and it is probable that it will make no difference, but it still needs to be said. Mr. Eyester still has time to change the plea, thanks to the defendant’s refusal to appear.

  3. How do you get released at 5 am day your kids are missing and all of a sudden report them missing at 1pm same day so from 5am-1pm where the well was the dumb so called mother. She needs to be charged for neglect instead of having a gofund me for her son’s justice her kids need justice from her if anything. The man was a piece of crap we all get it but how you going to land yourself in jail when you have kids. Word of advice grow up, and if you can’t be a mother to your children give them to someone who will love them and give them live instead of taking it. CPS should never let that woman have kids. Someone needs to tell her she needs to go tie her tunes and not to breed anymore. Woman cry to conceive children than you have people like this. Everyone needs to not fill sorry for the mother she needs to be held accountable, you let these kind of people around your children what do you expect is going to happen. Justice for baby KOKO.

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Matt LaFever
Matt LaFeverhttps://mendofever.com/
For the past seven years, Matt LaFever has covered the North Coast of California in both print and radio news. A Humboldt State graduate, he has lived in the Emerald Triangle for nearly 20 years. His reporting spans local issues like crime and wildfires. When not writing, Matt is an avid outdoorsman, exploring Northern California’s rugged landscapes. Reach out to him at matthewplafever@gmail.com.

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