12/25/2025
18-year-old Kanita Barefield, who is being charged as an adult in an acid attack last year, was released on bond tonight.
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Kanita is accused of throwing acid on 17-year-old Passion Turner, leaving her with serious injuries. She's due back in court on February 2nd.
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Here's what we posted just a few days ago regarding this case ๐
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A teenage girl was left with severe burns after an acid attack in May 2024. Two of the girls involved have been sentenced, & the third case has now been moved from juvenile court to adult court.
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Just after noon on May 26th, 2024, police were called to the 400 block of N Dodge, near 2nd & Seneca, where a cup of โLiquid Fireโโa highly corrosive drain cleaner with concentrated sulfuric acidโhad been thrown on Passion Turner, 17, during a confrontation. She suffered second-degree burns to her face & neck. Three teens were charged: YeโKira Hollins & Tayronnia West, each 18 at the time of the attack & now 19, & Kanita Barefield, 16 at the time & now 18, referred to in court records as KB.
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According to a probable cause affidavit, Passion & Tayronnia had been feuding for months, mostly through social media. A friend of Passion's told police that one post in particular made things much worse. The weekend before the attack, Tayronnia posted a Snapchat video of her group smoking at Passionโs fatherโs gravesite, captioned โsmokin on his dead ass.โ That post, friends said, escalated the tension even further leading up to the attack.
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Passion would later tell investigators that earlier in the day, on May 26th, 2024, she had been with her friends. The three of them had gone out to get food & while they were out, they received a phone call from her older sister, letting them know that Tayronnia had shown up at the house & was outside wanting to fight. After getting the call, Passion & her friends drove back toward the house.
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As they drove back to the house, they noticed a white vehicle pull out from the liquor store & begin following them. Passion recognized the car as Ye'Kiraโs, & it soon began speeding up as if trying to rear-end them. The group rushed into the driveway & ran inside. When Passion & her friends looked outside, Tayronnia, Ye'Kira, & KB were yelling for them to come out & fight. After some back-&-forth, Passion & her friends stepped out. Words were exchanged & Passion eventually walked into the street to fight Tayronnia one-on-one.
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Right before the two girls were getting ready to fight, KB suddenly threw a cup of liquid in Passionโs face. Passion & Tayronnia began physically fighting. Both threw a punch, then wrestled briefly before stopping. Passion began screaming in pain. At first, they believed she had been pepper sprayed. Passion ran inside the house, where her sister & friends tried to help by pouring milk on her burns while they waited for first responders. They quickly realized it was som**hing far more serious when they noticed her sweater started melting & her skin was visibly burned. They felt emergency services were taking too long, so they rushed her to the hospital themselves.
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An officer reported that Passion was in the burn unit, screaming as nurses rinsed her off. She was begging for pain medication & clearly in extreme pain. Hospital staff said the liquid had a pH of 2, strong enough to cause serious chemical burns. The liquid was later identified as the drain cleaner, โLiquid Fireโ. It burned through her clothes, left holes in the fabric, & caused severe chemical burns to her face, neck, ears, chest & back. Investigators were contacted by Tayronnia's mother, who said a bottle of Liquid Fire drain cleaner had been kept in her bathroom & believed one of the girls may have taken it without permission.
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Meanwhile, police reviewed a Ring doorbell video from Passionโs sisterโs house that showed what happened just before the fight began. The recording showed Tayronnia walking up to the front door & ringing the bell. KB, holding a cup, walked over to Ye'Kira, who stood in the yard with a plastic cleaning bottle in one hand. Ye'Kira poured the liquid into the cup KB was holdingโthe same liquid that was later thrown on Passion. After pouring the liquid, Ye'Kira tossed the empty bottle into a trash bin at the edge of the yard.
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Officers were able to retrieve the bottle seen in the footage from a nearby trash bin. They also located a wig on the curb that a witness said belonged to one of the girls involved. An officer who picked it up with latex gloves also suffered burns from acid residue.
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On June 5th, 2024, Wichita police spotted a white BMW registered to Ye'Kira & pulled it over in the 3000 block of N Rock Road. Both Tayronnia & Ye'Kira were inside the car & were taken into custody. They were brought in for questioning. Ye'Kira declined to speak with investigators, while Tayronnia agreed.
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Tayronnia told police she expected a fight that day but thought it would be with Passionโs sister or one of the other girls, not Passion herself. When Passion came outside instead, a short fight broke out between the two. Tayronnia said they threw a few punches before Passion suddenly started screaming.
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In her police interview, Tayronnia said she was confused, backed off, & began to feel a burning sensation on her own face, thinking at first that it was pepper spray. Tayronnia told police it was never her intention for anyone to get seriously hurt. She also showed officers several injuries, including pink discoloration on her face & open sores on her leg, which appeared to be chemical burns. Tayronnia told investigators she had no idea acid would be used & thought the confrontation would be a typical fistfight.
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Ye'Kira was charged with Aggravated Battery for knowingly causing great bodily harm or disfigurement. After her arrest on June 5th, 2024, she was released on June 20th after posting a $150,000 bond through Big Fish Bail Bonds.
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Her jury trial began on April 28th, 2025, & lasted just under three days. Following the trial, we spoke with one of the jurors, who shared with us the evidence that was shown & the testimonies they heard. Jurors saw Ring doorbell footage, cellphone videos, & officer body cam clips, & heard testimony from multiple witnesses, including Passion & YeโKira. In addition to the other videos, jurors were shown photos taken from hospital staffโsome of them graphic & showing just how serious the burns were.
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The juror told us the body cam footage from the hospital was the hardest to watch. While officers spoke with Passion, hospital staff were cutting away her burned clothingโthe camera was angled upward for privacy, but her screams were clearly heard in the background. โShe was just screaming in pain. Iโve never heard anything like that," the juror said.
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During her testimony, YeโKira explained that she was close with Tayronnia but had just met Kanita that day. "She's not my friend, that's Tay's friend," she said in court. She acknowledged pouring the acid into Kanitaโs cup but claimed she warned her not to throw it. YeโKira also said she stood back from the fight because she was three months pregnant. In a separate police interview played during the trial, she described the acid as som**hing meant only to intimidate.
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Jurors were also shown a video of Ye'Kira's police interview. In it, she stated they brought the acid as a deterrent. She briefly claimed Passion had chased them with a gun the night before, but the judge restricted discussion of that allegation because of pending related cases.
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On April 30th, after just one hour of deliberation, a jury made up of 9 women & 3 men returned with a guilty verdict on the lesser charge of Reckless Aggravated Battery, meaning the jury believed she knew someone could get hurt but didnโt intentionally try to injure anyone.
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YeโKira, who had no prior criminal history, was sentenced on June 13th, 2025, by Judge Tyler Roush to 34 months (2 years, 10 months) in prison, followed by 24 months of post-release supervision. She is required to register as a violent offender for 15 years under the Kansas Offender Registration Act, since the court ruled that the acid qualified as a deadly weapon.
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Tayronnia was charged with Aggravated Battery for knowingly causing great bodily harm or disfigurement. After her arrest on June 5th, 2024, Tayronnia West initially bonded out on June 13th through Wichita Bonding Company. A month later, her bond was revoked, & she was taken back into custody on July 16th.
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In December, Judge David Kaufman agreed to lower her bond from $150,000 to $75,000. Tayronnia posted the reduced bond on December 24th & was released again.
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On February 24th, 2025, Tayronnia was arrested by Park City Police for Domestic Battery & Disorderly Conduct. Officers responded to a disturbance involving yelling outside a residence that reportedly caused someone to have an asthma attack. She spent two days in jail before bonding out again on February 26th.
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On April 29th, 2025, while YeโKiraโs trial was underway, law enforcement discovered several public posts on Tayronniaโs page. The posts appeared to mock the case & referenced throwing acid. Screenshots of the posts were included in a motion to revoke her bond, which the DA filed on May 1st.
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One post included a picture of Tayronnia along with a status that said, โ& if I send you this, just know Iโm throwing acid on you,โ which Tayronnia reposted publicly with the caption "๐๐๐๐ฏโ In other posts, Tayronnia appeared to mock media coverage of her case, writing things like โIf the news post me one more time ima be at they building ๐๐๐โ & in the comments of that post she made several comments, including, โBitch I didnโt even have courtโ followed by โJust false advertisingโ & "Ugly black hoes" & โAt least let me send a pic tf.โ
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Prosecutors argued that the posts were threatening, showed a disregard for public safety, & were especially concerning given their timing during her co-defendantโs trial. Despite the DAโs concerns, Judge Tyler Roush denied the motion on May 8th, allowing Tayronnia to remain out on bond at the time.
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The afternoon of July 19th, 2025, Tayronnia was arrested & booked back into jail for Contempt of Court. Records don't specify what led to the arrest, but she's remained in custody since.
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On September 19th, 2025, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Aggravated Battery, recklessly cause great bodily harm or disfigurement. She will also have to register as a violent offender for 15 years under the Kansas Offender Registration Act.
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Tayronnia, who had one prior Theft conviction as a juvenile, was sentenced on December 19th, 2025, by Judge Tyler Roush to 34 months (2 years, 10 months) in prison.
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The third defendant, Kanita Barefield, was arrested on March 11th, 2025, in Topeka by sheriffโs deputies. She was 16 at the time of the attack & initially charged in juvenile court. On December 4th, 2025, the case was transferred to adult court, where she now faces two counts of Aggravated Batteryโone for knowingly causing harm or disfigurement, & the other for doing so recklessly.
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Read the affidavit- https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZMzzx5Zh49K0Qbbllml9cHchEYniklvAQ7k
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Our posts covering this-
5/26/24 The Attack- cutt.ly/yeiWCxP1
6/6/24 Two Suspects Arrested- cutt.ly/NeiPmgHq
6/6/24 Ye'Kira Released- cutt.ly/8epdzBTA
6/14/24 Tayronnia Released- cutt.ly/NefirAZ9
7/3/24 Affidavit Released- cutt.ly/KejfOjMu
7/17/24 Tayronnia Back in Jail- cutt.ly/GejfPu9h
9/29/25 Two Convicted- cutt.ly/CrMMu8Xa
12/20/25 Two Sentenced- cutt.ly/ntsn0naW
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โ- Shae
**Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Our information comes from public records like police reports, court documents, scanner audio from police, fire & EMS, news reports & other reliable sources. Weโre not professional journalistsโjust community members sharing information in our free time to keep people informed.**
