Prosecutors allege a Milwaukee woman killed her 4-year-old son by setting him on fire in a bathtub in their apartment.
Tragic News: ‘Please mommy, stop!’: 4-year-old burned to death in bathtub, police say
Prosecutors allege a Milwaukee woman killed her 4-year-old son by setting him on fire in a bathtub in their apartment.
Amelia DiStasio faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide. She remains jailed with bail set at $400,000.
Prosecutors allege a Milwaukee woman killed her 4-year-old son by setting him on fire in a bathtub in their apartment.
According to the complaint, authorities were called about smoke at DiStasio’s south side apartment Thursday morning and found her son Antonio’s burned and lifeless body in the bathtub. His hands had been bound behind his back with several belts, and a plastic garbage bag was over his head. An open bottle of cooking oil was in the bathroom.
The suspect’s older brother and sister are grieving the loss of their nephew while trying to fathom what their sister is accused of.
“I love my sister regardless, and I know she was sick. I want to tell her I’m angry. I’m very upset with her,” Eva Allen, the suspect’s sister, told WTMJ.
“I never think she could do some stuff like that,” said Anthony Bardwell, the suspect’s brother.
The night before the fire, the criminal complaint said a neighbor heard the child say, ‘Please mommy, stop! I won’t do it again!’ She also heard DiStasio yell, “Shut up!”
At the time of the fire, a witness told police she saw the suspect climb out the window and run away. Police later found her walking down the street. It’s unclear if she has an attorney.
The complaint also said investigators found searches on DiStasio’s phone for ways to kill cannibals.
CNN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Seffner woman was arrested on Monday for aggravated child abuse and neglect after her 19-month-old child was brought to the hospital with several broken bones.
Breaking News: Florida mom arrested after toddler brought to hospital with broken back, ribs, arm, & leg
Medical personnel determined that the injuries were as a result of physical abuse that has occurred consistently for at least two months, based on the different stages of healing and acute injuries.
On Monday around 11 p.m., Veronica Rivera Cruz, 21, her 19-month-old child to Brandon Regional Hospital for swelling she observed to the child’s left leg. When hospital staff, along with medical personnel from the Child Protection Team, reviewed the child’s injuries, they found that located the following injuries:
- Multiple bruises across her forehead that they believe were several days old
- A black eye with observed hemorrhaging to the white of her eye
- Bruising to her right cheek
- A blister inside her mouth
- A fracture on her right elbow that appears to have been healing for 2-4 weeks
- A fracture of both right forearm bones that appear to have been healing for 2-4 weeks
- An acute displaced spiral fracture of her left femur bone
- Fractures to her 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th ribs that appear to have been healing for 2-4 weeks
- A posterior fracture of the right side of her 9th or 10th rib
- A fracture to the left tibia that appears to have been healing for 6-8 weeks
- Fractured deformities to the spine humorous bone that appear to have been healing for 2-4 weeks
- A skull fracture on the victim’s periorbital bone
- A spiral fracture to the left humorous bone that appears to have been healing for 6-8 weeks
- A fracture to the victim’s right ulna bone
- Internal bleeding
In total, medical staff located four different stages of healing on the victim’s body, leading them to believe that abuse had been occurring consistently for at least two months.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, during a non-custodial interview, Rivera Cruz admitted that she was “too rough” while changing the victim’s diaper on Monday night, which she believes may have caused the femur fracture. This occurred at the victim and defendants home in Seffner.
In addition, Rivera Cruz told officials that she believes she may have caused the rib fractures to the victim as well.
Rivera Cruz’s roommate witnessed the child on several occasions to be in pain or have visible injuries and told the defendant on numerous occasions to take the victim to the hospital or doctor, according to the arrest affidavit.
“However, the defendant failed to provide any medical attention for the victim that any prudent person would consider essential to the child’s well-being,” the affidavit reads.
According to deputies, as a result of the Rivera Cruz’s neglect, the little girl had to live day-to-day with numerous fractures to her body. The victim’s old fractures in her left arm started to heal on their own, which has caused the child to have a deformed left arm, medical professionals stated.
In addition, doctors located internal blood within the victim’s abdomen, which could have been caused by a lacerated liver or intestine. Medical staff also advised if the injuries continued to go untreated, it could have resulted in the victim’s death.
View full story: http://www.wptv.com/news