PARKVILLE, MO – Authorities have charged a 21-year-old Parkville man in the death of his 6-month-old son following a months-long investigation into the circumstances surrounding the infant’s fatal injuries last fall.
Adrian Horton faces a felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. According to court documents filed in Platte County, police determined that Horton’s son, Mateo Rideout, sustained severe head trauma in October 2024 — a combination of violent force and movement consistent with shaking and blunt impact.
Investigators said Horton gave differing accounts over several hours of interviews regarding the events that led to his son’s death. Initially, Horton reportedly told police he had “aggressively patted” Mateo to calm him when he began crying, admitting that he might have used more force than was appropriate.
Police allege that Horton later described other scenarios, including changing Mateo’s diaper, during which the child began to choke. Horton claimed he attempted to perform CPR “the adult way” on his infant son before calling for Mateo’s mother.
The infant’s mother told detectives that Horton became frustrated whenever he was tasked with caring for Mateo. On the night of the incident, investigators said she described hearing Horton speak to the baby with irritation before hearing loud sounds come from their child’s room. She said she rushed in after hearing Horton call her name, finding him holding the baby “with a panicked look” as the child struggled to breathe.
According to court filings, the mother said there had been no prior physical abuse, but she noticed Horton’s behavior around the child had grown more aggressive in recent weeks.
Horton further recounted to police that the incident began when he and the mother were in their bedroom and Mateo started fussing in his bassinet. He said he struggled to remove Mateo’s onesie, causing the infant’s head to jerk back and forth, before removing a soiled diaper. At one point, Horton reportedly told investigators he held Mateo and played with his arms, but did not feel he was too rough. Moments later, he claimed, the baby spit up, prompting Horton to grab him by the neck and pat him forcefully on the back.
It was only after this second round of forceful patting, court documents say, that Mateo began to gasp for air, leading Horton to call for the child’s mother. Medical examiners later concluded that the infant’s injuries were consistent with violent trauma.
While officers investigated the child’s death, Horton had already been under suspicion for an unrelated sexual assault months earlier. Authorities allege Horton sexually assaulted a former partner in December 2023 outside the Zona Rosa shopping mall in Kansas City. According to court records, the alleged victim told investigators Horton choked and assaulted her in a parked vehicle, despite repeated efforts to stop him. DNA evidence reportedly linked Horton to the assault.
Horton was booked Monday, approximately eight months after the alleged sexual assault. He is being held on a $150,000 bond in the rape case and without bond on the charge connected to his son’s death.
Court proceedings in both cases are pending, with further hearings expected in the coming weeks.