Charges filed in Ukiah toddler death, defendant refuses to cooperate during arraignment

The man accused of causing the death of a Ukiah toddler, whose body was found last week near a railroad track where he and his 2-year-old brother had been abandoned, refused to cooperate Monday in court.

Edward Two Feathers Steele, who is being detained in the Mendocino County jail, refused to enter a room to appear on camera for his arraignment hearing Monday, according to Mendocino County Superior Court records.

The hearing, where Steele was expected to enter a plea, was rescheduled to Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Ukiah man has been charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of child endangerment, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

The murder and one of the endangerment counts pertain to the child who died, identified in the complaint as K.A. The second endangerment charge refers to the toddler’s 2-year-old brother, who is identified in court documents only as U.A.

Steele is being held without bail, according to jail records. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Steele was dating the children’s mother and they had an argument just after 2 a.m. Aug. 2 outside a business in the 1700 block of North State Street.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested the mother on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence and battery, officials said, adding that Steele retrieved the children, who were with a babysitter at a nearby motel.

Officials released the mother’s name, but The Press Democrat is not identifying her. She could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.

The mother was released from jail around 5 a.m. Aug. 3. Authorities said she contacted the Sheriff’s Office around 1:30 p.m. later that day about her missing children.

Just before 4 p.m., a passerby found the woman’s 2-year-old son near railroad tracks in the 300 block of Brush Street, about a mile south of where the mother had previously been arrested.

He was taken to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley hospital suffering life-threatening injuries consistent with heat exposure, officials said. According to a social media post from his mother, made the same day he was found, the 2-year-old was severely dehydrated but he recovered and was released from the hospital.

The toddler’s status could not be confirmed Monday with authorities or his mother.

The body of the youngest child, described by authorities as “1-year-old,” was found near where his brother had been discovered, officials said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death is under investigation.

Investigators have not said why the children were left by the railroad tracks or for how long.

Authorities initially identified Steele as a person of interest who was believed to have been the last person seen with the children.

At about 12:30 p.m. Aug. 4, after putting out a call for information about Steele’s whereabouts, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by members of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians who said Steele had been spotted on the tribe’s reservation, Hopland Rancheria, just south of Ukiah.

Authorities detained him and he was later arrested on suspicion of murder.

Court records show Steele has a history of arrests and convictions leading up to last week’s death.

He was most recently convicted of vehicle tampering in August 2021 after pleading no contest in a burglary case. He was sentenced to 12 months probation.

In response to last week’s arrest, the DA’s Office filed a petition to revoke his probation.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi