Kyle Kelbel was an eighteen year old teen killer when he would murder two year old Kailyn Montgomery in Minnesota
According to court documents Kailyn Montgomery was removed from the home after authorities discovered injuries to the toddler. The little girl would recover then for some reason sent back home where two months later Kyle Kelbel would beat the little girl to death
Kyle Kelbel would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison
In 2023 Kyle Kelbel would be arrested and charged with the murder of Steven Paul Patchen a convicted sex offender at the Oak Park Heights prison
Kyle Kelbel Now
MNDOC Offender ID:
207376
Name:
Kyle John Kelbel
Birth Date:
06/22/1981
Current Status:
Incarcerated as of 07/27/2001. Currently at MCF Oak Park Heights.
Sentence Date:
07/17/2001
Anticipated Release Date:
Life –
Expiration Date:
Life
Kyle Kelbel Case
On December 4, 2000, two-year-old Kailyn Montgomery died in her home while under the care of appellant Kyle John Kelbel. Kyle Kelbel, then 19 years old, was the boyfriend of Kailyn’s mother, Lindsey Ostler. Kyle Kelbel was living with Lindsey and Kailyn in a home shared with Lindsey’s father, George Ostler, and Ostler’s five-year-old son, Evan.
On December 4, Kyle Kelbel was caring for both Kailyn and Evan while Lindsey and Ostler were at work. At 2:56 p.m., Kyle Kelbel called 911 and said that Kailyn “got hit in the head with a cup today by her little brother and she has a bruise on her head and like she is like not breathing right now.” Officer Mark Aldrich was the first to arrive at the Ostler home in response to the 911 call. Aldrich observed that Kailyn’s lips were blue, her skin was cool and pale, and her eyes were glazed. He also saw that she had some vomit in and around her mouth and had a big bruise on her forehead. As Aldrich was about to begin CPR, Officer Paul Theines, a paramedic, arrived and took over Kailyn’s care.
Theines later testified that when he arrived, he saw Kyle Kelbel standing over Kailyn looking stressed and worried about Kailyn. Theines cut off Kailyn’s shirt to begin CPR and saw several bruises on her chest. While Theines was trying to help Kailyn, Aldrich asked Kelbel what happened. According to Aldrich, Kelbel said that around 12:38 p.m., Evan and Kailyn were at the kitchen table and Evan threw a sippy cup full of milk at Kailyn and hit her in the head. Theines testified that when he heard Kelbel’s sippy cup story, he did not believe that a plastic cup thrown by a five-year-old could have caused Kailyn’s injury.
An ambulance transported Kailyn to the hospital. When she arrived, Dr. Edward Feinstein worked for 40 minutes to revive her, but pronounced her dead at 4:00 p.m. While trying to help Kailyn, Feinstein observed many bruises on her chest, forehead, abdomen, and arm.
The Maplewood police arrested Kyle Kelbel at the scene and interviewed him twice that day. Officer Kevin Johnson conducted the first interview. According to Johnson, Kyle Kelbel stated that he, Kailyn, and Evan were together at home that morning, went to the dentist a short time before 11:00 a.m., and returned home around 11:40 a.m. They then ate lunch. Because Evan was not eating his lunch, Kelbel told him that he needed to eat or Kelbel would take the food away. Evan told Kelbel to take the food away, so Kelbel took the plate and turned away from Evan. Just then, Kelbel heard an object hit something and then heard the object hit the table and then the floor. Kelbel turned around and saw Kailyn point to her head. Kailyn then said, “Evan hit me.” Kelbel observed a sippy cup on the floor behind Kailyn and a red mark on Kailyn’s forehead. Kelbel told Johnson that Kailyn did not cry and did not seem to be upset.
Johnson testified that Kyle Kelbel told him that he and Kailyn drove Evan to the school bus stop and then returned home. During this time, Kailyn was not crying and was “acting normal.” Kelbel said he called Lindsey and left a message around 2:00 p.m. Johnson testified that Kelbel said that Lindsey called him that afternoon and he told her about the sippy cup and the forehead bruise. Although Kelbel told Lindsey that he wanted to take Kailyn to the doctor right away, Lindsey said that she would take care of it after work.
Officer Johnson also testified that at this point in the interview, he was concerned whether Kelbel’s account of events would match the medical examiner’s findings regarding Kailyn’s physical condition. For this reason, he asked Kyle Kelbel several times whether there was anything else that could have caused Kailyn’s injury.
According to Johnson, Kelbel said that the sippy cup incident was the only thing that had happened and that nothing else could have done it. Kelbel then said that when he and Kailyn got home after dropping Evan off at the bus stop, they went into Ostler’s bedroom where the computer was located. Kailyn lay on the bed while Kelbel was using the computer. Kelbel noticed that Kailyn was breathing heavily, hyperventilating, so he asked her if she was all right. Kailyn indicated that she was fine. When Kyle Kelbel noticed that Kailyn’s breathing stopped, he called 911.
According to Johnson, Kyle Kelbel said that he did not like watching Evan and Kailyn at the same time. Kelbel told him that Lindsey was skeptical about having Evan and Kailyn staying at home together. Kelbel also said that Evan hurts people. At some point during this first interview, Kelbel told Johnson that he wanted to know what was going on with Kailyn because he loved her.
Approximately two hours after the end of the first interview, Johnson and Special Agent Jeff Hansen interviewed Kelbel for a second time. Johnson testified that at this interview, he informed Kelbel that Kailyn had died. Kelbel asked to see Lindsey, cried, and said he loved Kailyn as if she were his own child. Hansen testified that Kelbel was unable to answer questions for some time because he was crying. Johnson asked whether the sippy cup caused Kailyn’s forehead injury and Kelbel insisted that it must have been the cause.
Kyle Kelbel was then released from custody and agreed to return for a third interview the next day. He returned the next day and Hansen and Captain Mike Ryan conducted this interview. Hansen testified that Kelbel told them that two days before Kailyn died, he had caught Evan putting a pillow over Kailyn’s face. Kelbel said that after removing the pillow, he saw that Kailyn’s eyes were shaking and her lips were blue. He also said that Kailyn’s balance after this incident was “off” and that she was swaying back and forth.
According to Hansen,Kyle Kelbel again told them about the sippy cup incident. Kelbel said that after this incident, Kailyn’s “balance was off.” He also related the events prior to Kailyn’s death and explained that after dropping off Evan, they returned home and went into Ostler’s bedroom. While Kelbel was downloading music or listening to music, he turned down the volume to listen to Kailyn’s breathing. When Kelbel heard that Kailyn had stopped breathing, he called 911.
Hansen testified that during this third interview, he asked Kelbel if he went outside sometime between the time he arrived home from dropping Evan off at the bus stop and the time the police arrived. Kelbel said that while Kailyn was watching cartoons, he went outside, possibly to have a cigarette. Kelbel told Hansen that while he was outside, he talked to a 15-year-old neighbor for five to ten minutes. When Kelbel went back inside the house, Kailyn asked for something to drink and he gave her a sippy cup with some milk in it. Kelbel listened to music for about 15 minutes and then noticed that Kailyn was having trouble taking deep breaths.
Hansen testified that he asked Kelbel if Kailyn had fallen down any stairs or had been in a car accident. Kelbel said no. Hansen also asked whether Kailyn had had stomach pain that day. Kelbel responded that she had a stomach ache a few days before her death. Next, Hansen said that the medical examiner had found that Kailyn had died of very forceful blunt trauma to the abdomen and that she bled to death internally. Kelbel responded, “What could have caused that?” Hansen answered that such an injury could have been caused by someone striking Kailyn in the stomach with something like a fist, shoe, or knee. Hansen told Kelbel that Kailyn’s injury could not have been caused by a sippy cup.
According to Hansen, he then told Kelbel that if something had happened to Kailyn that was “beyond [his] control,” such as a fall or playing rough, Kelbel needed to tell them now. After Kelbel repeatedly denied that there had been an accident, Hansen asked Kelbel whether Kailyn’s breathing had been normal before he went outside and spoke with the neighbor. Kelbel said that Kailyn’s breathing had been fine. Hansen then told Kelbel that the neighbor had told the police that Kelbel had said that Kailyn was “breathing funny.” Kelbel then changed his story and acknowledged that he told the neighbor that Kailyn’s breathing was messed up and that she had been having trouble breathing.
Hansen also testified that Kelbel changed his story regarding the sippy cup incident and admitted that Evan did not throw the cup at Kailyn. Kelbel explained that he, Kailyn, and Evan had all been walking down the stairs when Evan tripped Kailyn. Kailyn then brushed up against the back of Kelbel’s leg. As Kelbel attempted to stop Kailyn from falling, the back part of his thigh fell on Kailyn. Ryan expressed disbelief with Kelbel’s explanation.
Ryan again expressed disbelief and said that Kelbel would have had to land on Kailyn with something like a foot, fist, or elbow to cause the injury that Kailyn had. Kelbel responded, “Swear to God that’s what happened” and then said that he landed on Kailyn with the side of his knee. He then said that he fell on Kailyn with the side of his leg. Kelbel next explained that Kailyn obtained the forehead injury after falling down the stairs and hitting her head on a door at the bottom. He then reenacted the fall for Hansen and Ryan. Although Ryan expressed disbelief about Kelbel’s version of events, Kelbel insisted that it was the truth.
Lindsey’s Police Interview
Hansen also interviewed Lindsey on December 4. According to Hansen, Lindsey said that Evan had outbursts against Kailyn for the past few months, including pulling Kailyn’s hair and punching her in the back. Because of this behavior, Lindsey separated Kailyn and Evan at the dinner table. Lindsey also said that she observed bruises on Kailyn from an incident in which Evan placed a pillow over Kailyn’s face and from an incident in which Kailyn fell while trying to balance on a glide rocker and a couch. With respect to Kelbel, Lindsey told Hansen that Kelbel cared for Kailyn no more than ten times and that Kailyn had one accident under his care. Lindsey also said that Kelbel never disciplined Kailyn, that she never saw him become violent or frustrated with Kailyn, and that he was gentle and kind toward Kailyn.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mn-supreme-court/1106636.html
Kyle Kelbel Prison Murder
A 43-year-old man serving a life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend’s toddler in Maplewood is the suspect in the death of a fellow inmate of the Lino Lakes prison, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said Monday.
Steven Paul Patchen, 63, was found unresponsive in his cell at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and pronounced dead about an hour later. Patchen was serving a 19½ year sentence after being convicted of three counts of criminal sexual conduct in Anoka County in 2018.
The Department of Corrections identified Kyle John Kelbel as the suspect Monday. Kelbel was convicted of first-degree murder in 2001 in the death of 2-year-old Kailyn Montgomery, his girlfriend’s daughter.
Kailyn had previous injuries when she was in Kelbel’s care, had been put in protective foster care until her injuries healed and then sent home. Two months later in 2000, when Kelbel was 18, he beat Kailyn to death.
Kelbel has been transferred to the Oak Park Heights prison, the DOC’s highest security facility.
Patchen was in prison after he was charged in 2017 with sexually abusing juvenile relatives over an extended period of time.
The circumstances of last week’s suspected homicide in the Lino Lakes prison remain under investigation.
Man serving life sentence for toddler’s murder in Maplewood suspected in Lino Lakes prison homicide
