15yearold teenager Erik Mendoza was arrested and 27yearold David Pietura was arrested after they stabbed, beat and hid the body of Prince McCree, who was just five years old. The child’s body was found on the 26th “soaked in blood, bound and gagged” in a dumpster near a residential complex in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
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The mother, whose identity has not been released, says Prince did not go to school the day of the crime because he was sick. He then asked to play video games with Pietura in the basement, which he often did. The mother agreed. When he went to pick it up later, the basement was dark and empty. Prince was reported missing around 6 p.m.
Police, working with the International K9 Unit, initiated a search warrant for the location. Investigators noticed “blood on the cement floor and near the carpets.” Pietura, who witnessed the search, immediately began rearranging the carpets to hide the stains, citing as an excuse an argument between himself and Mendoza. Blood, he said, flowed from the teenager’s nose. However, more blood was found on a “bed cover on a chair and a blanket that served as a partition.” “A large amount of blood was also found on the man’s right leg.”
With the discovery of the stains, Pietura then stated that the teenager had “been talking about wanting to kill someone for some time.” According to the documents, the victim was chosen because Mendoza “never liked” the child.
The crime
Documents cited in the report indicate that Pietura watched as Mendoza suffocated the child until he could no longer move. He left the room but returned shortly afterwards. The inmate stated that they needed to “clean up” the crime scene. Thick black tape was taped around Prince’s hands and feet and pieces of cloth were used to cover the child’s mouth and muffle his screams in case he woke up. It was then sealed with adhesive tape.
When the teen noticed the child regaining consciousness, he said they needed to “shut him up.” The 27yearold man punched the child several times and while he continued to cry, Mendoza began kicking him in the head. A 30pound object was also thrown at the child.
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Thinking the victim was already dead, they put the body in several black bags. Further blows were delivered with a baseball bat after the defendants heard “noises” coming from the child.
The investigation
During the search warrant, the K9 unit, which uses sniffer dogs, reported a “decomposing smell at the bottom of the basement stairs.” There were three hoodies hanging behind the door. Pietura was caught on surveillance cameras using one while carrying the boy’s remains.
The victim’s body was found around 9 a.m. in a dumpster behind a bar about a kilometer from his home, People magazine reported.
Mendonza was arrested and denied hurting Prince “in any way.” However, he later claimed that he strangled the child and then stabbed three other people. Police confiscated a blackhandled butterfly knife from him that was used in the attacks.
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Pietura and Mendoza are charged with firstdegree intentional homicide, physical abuse of a child resulting in homicide and concealment of a corpse. Mendoza is also accused of stabbing three other people on Oct. 23, the magazine added.
The complaint, cited by the Chron, states that the person arrested “admitted that he was bored, went out and stabbed the first victim in the back.” The document also states that he “actually” wanted to stab someone but “felt bad” afterwards. When asked about the victims of the attacks, he replied: “I’m sorry, but at least you’re alive.”
Mendoza appeared in court on October 31. Pietura, in turn, was supposed to appear at a preliminary hearing this Monday, but did not show up because he did not yet have a public defender. There is no information available about the new hearing date. The teenager is expected to return to court on November 28.
According to the county medical examiner’s office’s preliminary autopsy report, Prince died from multiple injuries caused by “brutal force,” People reported.
On the 31st, Prince’s father, who also was not identified, reportedly tearfully confronted Mendoza:
You did this to my baby. Erik, you destroyed us.