DUNBAR, Pa. — A woman is facing charges after a 9-year-old girl she fostered was found dead early Thursday after initially being reported missing on Wednesday.
Pennsylvania State Police said Renesmay Eutsey was found partially submerged in the Youghiogheny River near Smithton in Westmoreland County around 3:30 a.m.
Kourtney Malinda Eutsey, 31, who authorities say is the girl’s foster mother, has been charged with criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of a child.
Channel 11 spoke with Renesmay Eutsey’s biological mother, Christina Benedetto, who said the girl and her three siblings went to live with Kourtney Eutsey five years ago while she tried to get back on her feet.
DA: ‘Very apparent that this girl suffered’
On Thursday morning, Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele said Kourtney Eutsey misled and withheld information from investigators during their search.
“It is very frustrating. We had a lot of search teams out. We had a lot of people looking for this girl. A lot of false hope,” Aubele said.
Aubele did not say the exact cause of death, but said that it is clear that Renesmay Eutsey was abused. He said the girl appeared to be malnourished and had several bruises and cigarette burns on her body.
“This is not the result we wanted this morning,” Aubele said. “It’s very apparent that this girl suffered.”
‘I’m never going to see my baby sister again’
Warning: The details from the criminal complaint below may be disturbing to some
On Wednesday, state police were called to a home on Third Street to help find Renesmay Eutsey around 12:41 p.m., who was reported missing at the time.
According to court documents, Sarah Shipley told investigators that the kids went to bed around 2:30 a.m. She said she was then woken up around noon, and didn’t see Renesmay Eutsey in her room. Shipley claimed that another child in the home said the victim talked about running away, and the bedroom window was cracked open.
State police said video surveillance showed a vehicle arriving at the home around 3:53 a.m., and someone going in and out of the house multiple times.
CYF then arrived and spoke with several children living inside the home. One of the children told troopers that she apologized for not telling the truth earlier and said, “I’m never going to see my baby sister again because she’s in heaven,” according to police paperwork. Another child in the home told police that their mom killed her sister and put her in a tote.
Troopers then interviewed one of the children, who investigators said is known to state police. According to court documents, she said the last time she saw Renesmay Eutsey alive was around 10 p.m. She said she then woke up to the victim screaming and crying, and overheard Kourtney Eutsey and Shipley say they were going to take the victim to a river “far, far away.” She told troopers she then saw the victim in a black garbage bag and then in a tote.
Around 10:40 p.m., troopers began to interview Kourtney Eutsey. She told police that the victim burned herself in the bathtub about a week ago, but was never taken to a doctor to be seen, and it may have become infected.
According to court documents, Kourtney Eutsey claimed that on Tuesday night, Renesmay Eutsey vomited and began to choke. She told police she tried for around half an hour to remove the vomit and perform CPR, but the victim eventually died.
Kourtney Eutsey told troopers she was worried about calling 911 and did not want to get in trouble because of the burn on Renesmay Eutsey and how skinny she was, according to police paperwork.
Police said that Kourtney Eutsey then put Renesmay Eutsey’s body in a black bag and then into a tote. Court documents say that Kourtney Eutsey then drove to the Youghiogheny River and placed the victim’s body along the shore bank.
Early Thursday morning, police said Kourtney Eutsey then led troopers to Renesmay Eutsey‘s body in the river in Westmoreland County.
Children & Youth Services is involved, and all the other children living in the home have been removed. The couple had been homeschooling the children.
Kourtney Eutsey is in the Fayette County Prison and has been denied bond because she is deemed a “threat to self and others,” according to court documents.
Her wife, Shipley, has not been charged. However, the complaint alleges that when one child witnessed the abuse this week, Shipley punched that child in the face. The district attorney told Channel 11 that more charges are expected.
Pennsylvania State Police continue to investigate.
‘She had so much light in her eyes’
Christina Benedetto, Renesmay Eutsey’s biological mother, tells Channel 11 that she hadn’t seen her daughter in four years. She admits to having made mistakes as a mother, resulting in her losing custody.
“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,” Christina Benedetto said.
Christina Benedetto said that she searched for Renesmay Benedetto for 13 hours before learning early this morning that her daughter had died.
“They were supposed to be somebody I could trust with my kids while I got my life situated. I wasn’t the best mother, but I was still there. They wouldn’t let me have any contact with any of the kids,” said Christina Benedetto. “She did not deserve the abuse, the malnourishment—any of it. She didn’t deserve to be thrown away like garbage.”
Editor’s Note: The district attorney initially said that Kourtney Eutsey was Renesmay Eutsey’s adoptive mother, but later referred to her as a foster parent.
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