Father of Ohio 7-year-old tortured, murdered by mom and trans lovers is also trans, goes by ‘Tara Jane’

William Evans-Ellis, 7, was found dead earlier in August, with authorities saying he suffered extensive abuse including signs of beatings, burn marks, and indications that the boy had been held underwater and choked. The medical examiner determined that the young boy was killed by a blow to the head. He was found in a closet bound and duct taped. The boy’s mother, Kaitlin Evans, as well as two trans identified males, Nessa Keaney and Kirby Rankin, have been arrested and charged. A grand jury indicted the three defendants on Thursday on 13 counts each.

The boy’s biological father, who has not been charged in the case, has been revealed to be Thomas John (TJ) Ellis, who goes by the name “Tara Jane,” per Andy Ngo. Ellis identifies as transgender, legally changing his name to Tara in December of 2023.

Ellis married Evans in 2011, with the two holding a second, trans-themed wedding in 2025, where a source with knowledge of the incident said the couple dressed their young boy up in a dress.

Ellis was reportedly in a polycule with Evans and the two other trans-identifying males. Keaney previously went by the name Adamhnan, and Rankin previously went by the name Nathan.

Per the Daily Mail, Ellis moved out of the Oakley apartment prior to the boy’s death, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the father’s part. In court, Ellis said he last saw William in December of 2025, around nine months before the boy’s death. Ellis said in court, “Willie was my life. I trusted you to care for him. They kept him from me for the past nine months over lies.”

In social media posts from Ellis, he spoke about his personal life being in a polycule. He identified himself as being autistic and Antifa, and works as a software engineer in cybersecurity. Ellis posted things about Antifa, being a DSA member, trans furry subculture, and queer activist materials on Mastodon, a left-wing social media platform similar to X.

In one December 2023 post, Ellis wrote about introducing his son to “K,” identified as Rankin, for the first time. “The other night we did a family+polycule outing and my kiddo met my girlfriend, ‘K,’ [Kirby Rankin] for the first time.” The boy was around four years old at the time.

Ellis wrote a few months later that “kiddo has started calling for ‘mommies!’ when he needs a parent and any parent will do, and it absolutely melts my heart every time.”

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