KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An audio recording of Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his fiancee discussing the injury to their 3-year-old aired by television station KCTV-5 revealed new chilling alleged details about the incident.
In the recording, Espinal tells Hill that their son is terrified of him.
“You need to be terrified of me too, b—-,” Hill replied.
Hill in the audio denies causing the injury to his son.
During the conversation, Espinal appears to be recounting the events leading up to the incident leading to their son suffering a broken arm.
“So he walked down there and then you were getting on his a– about s—,” Espinal said.
“And then you said something, right?” Hill asked.
“No, you kept getting on. And then he started crying, and then you were like, 'Stop, Shut up, shut up, stop crying, shut up, stop crying, stop crying. And then he kept crying because he was scared, he's terrified.”
Espinal then said Hill “grabbed on to (the child) somehow or he fell, one of the two.”
“I didn't do nothing,” Hill replied. “That's sad, bro. That is really said”
Espinal also questioned Hill as to why their 3-year-old son keeps saying “Daddy did it.”
“I don't know,” Hill replied. “He says daddy does a lot of things.”
"Like what?" Espinal asked. "A 3-year-old's not going to lie about what happened to his arm."
Espinal also suggests she covered for Hill during the investigation.
"And now somehow this investigation got brought back up, and you're about to lose your s—," Espinal said. "Now I really want you to sit and think about it, because I rode for you against that detective and the CPS people, and they said time and time again, that (the child), literally (the child) kept saying, 'Daddy punches me.' Which you do when he starts crying. What do you do? You make him open us arms and you punch him in the chest.""
Hill and Espinal also discussed using a belt to discipline their child. Both accused each other of using a belt as punishment.
The television station reports Espinal sent the recording to a friend because she did not feel safe keeping it on her phone. KCTV reported the audio being recorded at the Dubai airport as an “insurance policy” by Espinal.
Hill's trip to Dubai departed on March 9. The trip occurred in between two police reported collected by the Overland Park, Kansas police department on March 5 and March 14.
Johnson County district attorney Steve Howe on Wednesday said he believes a crime occurred related to the child's injury but his office could not determine who did it. KCTV-5 says they share the entire 11-minute audio with howe on Thursday.
The Chiefs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Partners of Hill's are evaluating their ongoing relationships with the player in light of recent developments. Pro Camps, which has scheduled a youth football camp with Hill in June at Shawnee Mission South High School, is considering its options, according to sales manager.
"We are aware of the recent news and are in the process of determining our next step," Volp said.
Updated 10:16 p.m., April 25:
KCTV-5 aired additional audio during their 10 p.m. newscast Thursday. That included an exchange when Hill made reference to a December 2014 domestic violence incident involving the couple. Hill pleaded guilty in that case to felony domestic assault and battery and received a sentence of three years probation. An Oklahoma court dismissed and expunged his conviction in August 2018.
"You sit here and tell me I'm not riding for you," Espinal said.
"Cause you're not, bro, you're not," Hill replied. "You ain't riding for me in 2014, you're damn sure not riding for me now, bro"
During another segment, the couple argued over how much time each parent spends with the child, and Espinal accused Hill of being too physical with him.
"You're right, bro," Hill said. "Like I said, I'm sorry for whatever happened. Obviously this wasn't a match made in heaven right here. You know what I'm saying? We don't need no beef."
"No, we don't," Espinal said.
