Confessed child killer David E. Pietura said in court Friday he deserved to never again be a free man for his role in the beating death last year of 5-year-old Prince McCree.
A Milwaukee County judge agreed with him.
Circuit Court Judge Jean M. Kies ordered Pietura to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole in Prince's slaying.
Pietura, 27, pleaded guilty in June to a count of first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime. Prosecutors say Pietura and a teen who were living with Prince and his family beat the child with a barbell, a 70-pound concrete birdfeeder and a golf club.
Prince was reported missing from his home in the 2400 block of North 54th Street in Milwaukee on Oct. 25. His body was found the next morning about a mile south, on the 5500 block of West Vliet Street.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson said Pietura misled detectives and Prince’s family in the early stages of the investigation and even joined in the search for the boy, knowing he was already dead.
At Pietura’s sentencing Friday, Prince’s family members, one by one, reflected on how empty their lives were without him. They described Prince as a cheerful, always-happy child with a magnetic smile, a passion for video games and a love of Spider-Man – he kept his fingers pressed in the Marvel hero's web-shooter pose.
"He didn't deserve this," Prince's father, Darron McCree, said.
Jordan Barger said her son seemed to make it a mission to find a new friend every day. Trusting Pietura, the gamer living in the basement, didn’t seem like a stretch.
"I just don't know how you can say you loved him, then do what you did to him," said Barger, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Stacy Jones, Prince's grandmother, said Pietura's actions also condemned her family to a life sentence – one that deprived them of the chance to watch Prince grow into a man.
"We're sad, confused, broken, lost," she said. "We feel betrayed because we trusted David."
Are children an easy target for homicide in Milwaukee?
The city of Milwaukee had 172 homicides reported in 2023, the year Prince was killed. Of them, 16 involved victims under 17 – three of whom were younger than 10, Milwaukee police records show.
So far in 2024, the city has seen 77 homicides through Thursday, nine of which involved victims under 17. Of them, two were 10 years old or younger.
In 2022, 23 children under 17 were the victim of homicide in Milwaukee, according to police data.
Man convicted in Prince's death argues for death penalty
Pietura initially faced two other felony charges ― physical abuse of a child resulting in death and hiding a corpse, but they were dismissed by prosecutors as part of his plea deal with prosecutors. However, they were read into the court record for sentencing purposes.
At sentencing, Pietura conceded "there's no possible way I should get parole" and that, if Wisconsin had a death penalty, he would deserve it.
“For my involvement, I feel death would be right. … I think I should get life without parole for my involvement,” Pietura said. “We can't go back in time. We can only move forward. Prince can't, but I can. And that ain't right.”
Kies rejected a recommendation by defense lawyer Russell Jones for Pietura to be eligible to apply for extended supervision after 40 years.
A teen that authorities say was also involved with Prince’s death faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide and other felonies. Erik Mendoza, 16, of Milwaukee, is scheduled for a hearing in juvenile court on Aug. 30, online court records show.
More: What to know about trial for Milwaukee man accused of killing 5-year-old Prince McCree
In death, Prince makes impact
Prince's death became a driving force behind efforts to change and strengthen a Wisconsin law aimed at protecting children.
Gov. Tony Evers in April signed the PRINCE Act into law, which expands the state's missing person alerts for children. He did so after the killings of Prince and 10-year-old Lily Peters of Chippewa Falls exposed holes in the system.
A new "Purple Alert" will include missing children under the age of 10, and children under the age of 18 who are believed to be incapable of returning home without help because of a disability.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man gets life for killing 5-year-old Prince McCree
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