Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering 5-year-old Boy, Dumping Body in Milwaukee Dumpster

According to court records, a Wisconsin man pleaded guilty in the October beating death of 5-year-old Prince McCree, whose body was discovered in a dumpster. David Pietura, 27, pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime on June 3, the opening day of the trial, according to court documents.

Conviction on this offense results in a mandatory life sentence. On June 4, McClatchy News contacted Pietura’s attorney for comment but did not receive a response. McClatchy News originally reported that Prince’s remains were discovered in a Milwaukee dumpster on Oct. 25, less than a day after he was reported missing.

According to a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Prince suffered blunt force injuries “from head to toe,” according to court papers.

He was beaten with a golf club, a barbell, and a concrete birdbath pedestal, according to court documents. According to criminal accusations obtained by The New York Times, Pietura told authorities that he was an “active participant” in Prince’s murder. Pietura and a 15-year-old who lived in the house with Prince were arrested in connection with his death on October 26, according to a Milwaukee Police Department news release.

According to court records, the 15-year-old is charged with various felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide, physical abuse of a child resulting in death, and disguising a corpse. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said that he is appearing in juvenile court on August 30. McClatchy News will not name the teen since he is a minor. Pietura’s sentencing hearing is planned for July 26, according to court documents.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed the “Prince Act,” which tries to fix flaws in the state’s AMBER alert system. The circumstances surrounding Prince’s disappearance “were considered to not have met the statutorily required threshold to issue an AMBER Alert,” the governor’s office stated in an April 9 news release announcing the bill.

The Prince Act extends Silver Alerts to those under the age of 18 who are missing and require assistance returning home due to physical or mental health issues, if they are under the age of 10, or if they do not qualify for other alerts.

“The current alert system failed him and failed our family, and I hope that with this new law, more families will get the attention and resources they need to bring their kids home safely,” the mother of Prince stated in the press release.