Foster parents held for court in homicide of 9-year-old girl, abuse of two others
The Fayette County foster parents charged in the death of 9-year-old Renesmay Eutsey and the mistreatment and abuse of two more children in their care were held for court on all charges after a preliminary hearing Friday afternoon.
Testimony against Kourtney Eutsey, 31, and Sarah Shipley, 35, both of Dunbar, lasted for close to three hours.
The two were arrested in September, shortly after police found the 9-year-old鈥檚 body partially submerged in the Youghigheny River.
They had originally told police Renesmay had wandered away after being put to bed, a claim originally corroborated by an 11-year-old girl in the home. But she told a family friend, and later state police troopers, that she had heard an altercation with one of the women yelling at Renesmay and kicking her in the stomach.
Erica Umensatter of Dunbar, a friend of Shipley鈥檚 who came to the house after being told of Renesmay鈥檚 disappearance, recalled the girl telling her 鈥渢hat Mommy鈥 鈥 the children鈥 s term for Eutsey 鈥 鈥減ut Renesmay into a tote, and Mom told her to go in the bedroom, and that she would be back.鈥
Investigators found phone records showing Eutsey鈥檚 device had traveled toward Perryopolis on the morning of Renesmay鈥檚 disappearance, and that Shipley had transferred gas money to Eutsey.
Trooper Thomas Hisker, who later spoke with the girl, said she had talked about missing her sister.
鈥淪he apologized for not telling the truth sooner, and that she was afraid she鈥檇 wind up dead like Renesmay,鈥 he said.
Troopers testified that Eutsey later took them to the location in the Youghigheny off an isolated back road where she had placed the tote containing Renesmay鈥檚 body, weighed down with rocks.
Police said Eutsey told them Renesmay had died after vomiting and choking, possibly as the result of infection in a burn she鈥檇 received in the bathtub the week before.
Eutsey told police she had performed CPR on Renesmay for 20 to 30 minutes to revive her.
鈥淪he told the investigator she was scared of losing the children, so she placed the child in a garbage bag,鈥 Trooper Joshua Spyra testified.
The two parents are also accused of subjecting the 11-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy to a prolonged period of physical abuse and malnourishment.
The 6-year-old weighed 24 pounds after what Margaret Russell, a pediatrician with UPMC Children鈥檚 Hospital of Pittsburgh, said met the clinical definition of torture. She evaluated the children after they were removed from the home.
At the age of 6, she said, the boy was smaller than his 2-year-old brother and his 3-year-old sister.
鈥淭his would not have been an acute presentation 鈥 his weight was lower at his presentation than it was a year or more prior,鈥 she said.
The 11-year-old girl told police Eutsey and Shipley had beaten and choked her, as well as verbally abused her, comparing her to a 鈥渞at鈥 for the short haircut they gave her, troopers testified.
The foster parents had also denied the girl medical care, Russell said. In one instance the girl described, Shipley pulled out a tooth with rusty pliers rather than going to the dentist, leaving a fragment remaining in her mouth.
The girl, who was home-schooled, had also been neglected academically, and was still unable to read, Russell said.
鈥淪he described asking for help with education, and not being given that by her caregivers,鈥 she said.
Family members as well as state troopers dabbed their eyes at times during testimony Friday. Shipley visibly cried throughout much of Friday鈥檚 hearing, while Eutsey looked downward.
All four surviving children, also including a 2- and 3-year-old, were placed in foster homes outside of Fayette County.
Eutsey鈥檚 attorney, Chief Public Defender Nicholas Clark, pointed to the lack of autopsy or established manner of death, and the girl鈥檚 shifting account of how Renesmay left the house.
鈥淭here is no non-hearsay testimony to establish that my client killed Renesmay Eutsey,鈥 he said.
In an interview after the hearing, District Attorney Mike Aubele said DNA results and an autopsy report had not come in by the time of the hearing, but were being pursued for a potential trial.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to delay this process,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e want to move this thing forward. So we didn鈥檛 wait for it, because we have substantial evidence that this was an intentional act.鈥
That evidence, he said, included indications of bleach and the presence of blood in the room where one of the children said she was beaten.
Aubele said the change in the girl鈥檚 account of Renesmay鈥檚 disappearance could be explained by undue pressure put on her by her foster parents to back up their story.
鈥淭hat is the only inconsistency, and that is the inconsistency that was rectified once they were out of the presence of the parents and felt safe enough to tell us what really happened,鈥 he said.
District Judge Nathan Henning held all charges against Eutsey and Shipley. Both face identical charges in Renesmay鈥檚 death regarding criminal homicide, endangering welfare of children, aggravated assault, concealing the death of a child, tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Shipley is also charged with additional conspiracy charges for each count.
For the alleged crimes against the two other children, they are charged with aggravated assault and a related conspiracy charge, along with endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and simple assault.
The two are being held in Fayette County jail without bond.