In a disheartening incident, five-year-old Prince McCree of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who had been reported missing, was found dead a day later.
The young boy had last been seen by his mother around 9 a.m. on October 25.
Following his disappearance, a desperate search was initiated, with community members and law enforcement officials rallying together in hopes of finding Prince safe.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, Prince’s body was discovered near Hawley Road, on the 5500 block of W. Vliet Street. This location is approximately a mile from the child’s residence. The grim discovery was made at 9 a.m. on October 26. The boy had been choked, beaten with various objects and his head was stomped on. He was tied with duct tape and put in garbage bags and then the dumpster.
The Milwaukee Police Department has since initiated a homicide investigation concerning the death of the young boy.
While the exact cause of Prince’s death is still being determined, law enforcement has taken two individuals into custody as persons of interest in this unsettling case. These individuals are a 27-year-old man, identified as David Pietura, and a 15-year-old boy named Erik Mendoza.
It has been revealed that both Pietura and Mendoza lived in the same multi-unit home as the McCree family. However, the specifics of their relationship with Prince and his family have not been officially disclosed. Pietura reportedly said that Mendoza never liked Prince and had talked about killing him.
In conversations with the media, State Senator LaTonya Johnson, who is a community neighbor of the McCree family, stated that while the two suspects live together, the nature of their familial ties to Prince and his relatives remains uncertain.
Further details indicate that Mendoza faces multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, physical abuse of a child causing death, hiding a corpse, and three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon. Due to the gravity of these charges and Mendoza’s age, he is being prosecuted as an adult. Pietura, on the other hand, has also been charged in connection to the case.
Alderman Michael J. Murphy expressed profound shock and sadness upon learning about Prince McCree’s death, emphasizing that any harm or neglect towards children is intolerable.
In remembrance and mourning of the young child, a vigil was organized this past weekend.
The case continues to be under investigation, and more details are expected to emerge in the coming days. Law enforcement urges anyone with additional information related to this case to come forward.
