(Cupventi.com) – Two individuals, one of whom is a teenager, are facing murder charges in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy discovered in a Milwaukee dumpster last week.
The child, Prince McCree, was reported missing by his mother on the evening of October 25. His body was found the next morning in a dumpster behind a bar approximately a mile from his home. The Milwaukee Police Department’s press release on October 30 confirmed that David E. Pietura, 27, and Erik Mendoza, 15, have been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, physical abuse of a child causing death, and hiding a corpse related to Prince’s death. Additionally, Mendoza faces three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety in connection with alleged stabbings in the city on October 23.
The criminal complaint reveals that both Pietura and Mendoza confessed to fatally beating the boy and disposing of his body. The suspects reportedly resided in different areas within the same home as Prince and Mendoza’s family.
On the day Prince was reported missing, his mother kept him home from school due to a cough and sore throat. According to the complaint, the last time she saw him was around 9 a.m. when she believed he went to the basement to play video games.
Following the discovery of evidence in the home, Pietura and Mendoza were questioned by the police. Although Pietura initially denied involvement, he later admitted to witnessing Mendoza choking Prince in the basement but did not intervene. The complaint alleges that the two bound and gagged the boy, placed his body in garbage bags, and subjected him to severe beatings using various objects.
Pietura allegedly disclosed that it was his idea to bind and gag Prince before disposing of his body. He also claimed that Mendoza had expressed a desire to kill someone for some time and had a dislike for the young boy.
After the assault, the suspects allegedly walked to a nearby dumpster and concealed Prince’s body among other garbage bags. Pietura’s original plan was reportedly to place the body in a sewage line, but it was deemed too heavy. Upon returning home, Mendoza allegedly cleaned the basement floor of blood using a rag.
Surveillance footage, according to the complaint, captured Pietura and Mendoza carrying a large white garbage bag to the dumpster where Prince’s body was later found. The pair is then seen leaving the area without the garbage bag.
A preliminary autopsy at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Prince died from multiple blunt force injuries, and his death was ruled a homicide.
State Senator LaTonya Johnson, a neighbor of the family, described Prince’s parents as distraught and in shock. She expressed that the neighborhood is typically quiet, and the severity of the incident was unexpected.
Mendoza also reportedly admitted to the police that he stabbed three strangers in the city on October 23. The authorities recovered the butterfly knife allegedly used in the stabbings during the investigation into Prince’s death.
A GoFundMe campaign was initiated by Marie Stillo, a cousin of Prince’s mother, to raise funds for Prince’s funeral and headstone and to support his parents during this challenging time.
In their press release, the Milwaukee Police Department expressed gratitude to investigators for their efforts in bringing Mendoza and Pietura to justice and extended condolences to the McCree family and all those affected by the tragic incident.