Pennsylvania authorities announced that a 9-year-old girl, who was declared missing on Wednesday, was found deceased on Thursday, resulting in the arrest of her foster mother.
Renesmay Eutsey was located partially submerged in the Youghiogheny River, around 20 miles from her residence in Dunbar. According to the Pittsburgh Gazette, Kourtney Eutsey, 31, directed law enforcement to the body of her adopted daughter after children in the household reported witnessing her commit the fatal act.
As noted by KDKA, officers were on the verge of executing a search warrant when a child approached a trooper, expressing remorse for previous false statements and saying, “I’m never going to see my baby sister again because she’s in heaven.”
During interviews, a girl disclosed to the police that she overheard Kourtney Eutsey and another adult discussing plans to take Renesmay Eutsey to a river “far, far away.” She recounted hearing the victim crying prior to observing Kourtney Eutsey and the other adult yelling at and kicking the child in the stomach, as reported by KDKA.
The girl alleged that the other adult punched her in the mouth because she witnessed the incident.
The girl told authorities she witnessed Renesmay Eutsey being placed in a bag. However, Kourtney Eutsey asserted that the child had vomited and choked to death. She claimed she did not seek help due to the child’s frail condition and because she had suffered burns in the bathtub a few days earlier.
WPXI reported that Renesmay Eutsey had an intellectual disability. The biological mother of the victim stated her daughter, along with three other children, began living with Kourtney Eutsey five years ago while she was undergoing treatment for drug addiction.
The mother admitted to losing custody, adding that she had not seen her daughter in four years.
Before she went with them, she had so much light in her eyes, and the fact that they did this instead of saying they couldn’t handle her anymore. They resorted to the worst possible thing that they could’ve done when they were supposed to protect her,” she told WPXI.
Renesmay Eutsey allegedly weighed 45 pounds and her body showed signs of abuse or neglect. Her injuries — including cigarette burns — were consistent with other accounts about what happened in the home, according to Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele.
“Sarah Shipley was the court ordered custodian of Renesmay [Eutsey],” the prosecutor explained, according to WTAE. “Kourtney Eutsey was the live-in caretaker in a relationship with Miss Shipley. Miss Eutsey had adopted at least one of the other children in the household. [Eutsey and Shipley] were in a relationship in which the children referred to Kourtney Eutsey as Mom and Sarah Shipley as Dad.”
Kourtney Eutsey was charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and concealing the death of a child.
Aubele said the other three children were removed from the home. He said additional criminal charges are likely forthcoming.
[Feature Photo: Pennsylvania State Police]
