Homicide charges filed against Milwaukee man and teen in death of Prince McCree, 5

A Milwaukee man and teenager have been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the beating death of 5-year-old Prince McCree, whose body was found in a dumpster last week after being reported missing.

The 14-page criminal complaint filed Monday describes an abhorrent beating of a helpless child for no apparent reason, occurring in the basement of a home where the victim’s mother was sleeping.

Charged in the case is David E. Pietura, 27, and Erik J. Mendoza, 15, who both admitted their involvement to police and lived together in the same residence as Prince, his family and friends of the family, the complaint said.

The teen was charged in adult court, in accordance with state law.

Mendoza is also accused of committing three random, nonfatal stabbings of strangers he encountered on the street in Milwaukee, all on Oct. 23, two days before Prince was killed.

Mendoza told police he had been bored that night and always wanted to stab someone, the complaint said. Pietura also told police Mendoza discussed wanting to kill Prince for some time because he didn't like him.

Both were arrested last week. An attorney for both couldn't immediately be reached Monday.

Prince had just started kindergarten this fall and recently lost his second baby tooth, said Marie Stillo, a cousin of Prince’s mother. He had two siblings and enjoyed school and superheroes, such as Spider-Man.

"We are very sad at what happened, and it wasn't fair, but now we are just trying to deal with it and put him to rest and help my cousin as much as she can," Stillo told the Journal Sentinel on Friday.

A GoFundMe page to benefit the family had raised more than $14,000 as of midday Monday.

Prince had last been seen inside his home on the 2400 block of North 54th Street by his mother at 9 a.m. but was discovered missing four hours later. Police issued multiple alerts about his disappearance in the following hours.

But that didn't include an Amber Alert, which would have pinged cell phone users in the area. Investigators didn't have information about a suspect or a vehicle description, which are required pieces of information for issuing such an alert, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Prince was found in a dumpster about a mile south of his home, on the 5500 block of West Vliet Street, Thursday morning.

Prince was home sick from school

According to the complaint:

Prince lived in a home with his parents and two siblings. The home is owned by a family friend, an adult woman, who also lived there with her three children, one of whom is Mendoza.

Pietura, described as an “associate” of the homeowner, lived in the basement.

Prince stayed home from school Wednesday after complaining of a sore throat. Around 9 a.m., his mother went to sleep while Prince went to the basement to play video games.

After the mother awoke at 1 p.m., she couldn't find Prince in the home and eventually called police. Pietura and Mendoza were in the home around that time.

Officers performed a grid search of the neighborhood and contacted around 200 residences and businesses but didn't find the boy.

Eventually, police located bloodstains in the basement of the home. Pietura, who was seen with a large amount of blood on his leg as he talked to police, denied seeing Prince at all that day and said he and Mendoza had spent two hours on a walk.

He allowed police to search his phone. GPS coordinates showed he lied about the route he and the teen took on their walk. Officers then arrested Pietura.

He later told police that Prince came to the basement to play video games, where the teen eventually joined them. At one point, Pietura left to go upstairs and returned to find Mendoza choking Prince.

Pietura and Mendoza both initially denied harming Prince. Both eventually backtracked.

They told police they choked him and beat him with their fists. The teen used a golf club and a barbell to harm the boy. They later wrapped him in duct tape and multiple garbage bags before leaving him in a dumpster.

Pietura eventually told police where they could find the body.

Three stabbings reported two days earlier

Two days before Prince’s death, three stabbings were reported in Milwaukee. Each involved a victim getting stabbed from behind by a stranger.

Mendoza admitted to committing all three to police. The weapon was recovered during a search of the home.

The stabbings were all reported within minutes of each other after 7 p.m. Monday. They were reported on the 4100 block of West North Avenue; near the corner of North 35th Street and West Center Street; and at the intersection of North Sherman Boulevard and West Center Street.

Victims suffered lacerations in the back, shoulder and neck, the complaint said.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man and teen charged in homicide of Prince McCree, 5