Inset left: Dante Campbell (GoFundMe). Inset middle: Charlotte Kurek (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Devario Cruz (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Background: West Allis police officers investigate after a child is found unresponsive outside of a Dairy Queen in West Allis, Wisconsin (WTMJ/YouTube).
A mother and father have been charged in the death of their 4-year-old son who was found unresponsive outside of a Wisconsin Dairy Queen, authorities said.
Charlotte Kurek, 31, and Devario Cruz, 21, both face a charge of chronic neglect of a child resulting in death as well as another count of chronic neglect of a child, court records show. Cruz has also been charged with first-degree reckless homicide, repeated acts of physical abuse of a child causing death, and repeated physical abuse of a child causing bodily harm.
The criminal complaints for the two suspects allege a grisly case of abuse. As one law enforcement officer cited in the court documents states, "This was the most extensive and severe injuries that I have witnessed on a child."
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Cruz woke up in West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb, on Saturday at about 7 a.m. and went into the bedroom of 4-year-old Dante Campbell and his twin sister. Dante was "unresponsive," and when his father picked him up, he said he looked "unreal." The child was "blue" and let out a final gasp as he was picked up, the affidavit states.
Cruz told Kurek, "I don't think [the victim] is alive, I think he is dead," according to authorities. Kurek is said to have begun screaming and said they needed to go to a hospital, but neither of the two adults called 911.
As Law&Crime previously reported, after 8 a.m., Cruz and Kurek drove to a friend of the Kureks — leaving three children "home alone" — and dropped off the twin girl. They kept Dante in the car, and Kurek finally called 911. Because they were near a West Allis Fire Department station, the 911 operator asked them to pull over so help could come to them.
As they waited for first responders, Cruz reportedly said, "I killed my kid, I want to kill myself."
The couple drove into the parking lot of an area Dairy Queen, where emergency personnel, and then police, arrived. Dante was found "stiff" and his gums were "bone white," indicating to police that he had been without oxygen for some time. He was brought to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators found "substantial bruising" on the child's body, and his clothes reeked of urine, according to court documents.
Kurek told investigators that Dante fell down the stairs of their home, with bikes and other items falling on top of him after the fall. But officers were skeptical, not believing that his injuries matched such a sequence of events.
She later admitted that she lied "out of fear for her own safety," authorities said, "despite earlier denying any previous domestic violence" by Cruz. She also allegedly made a startling comment: "My son looked like he got his a— beat by a grown man."
Kurek would also allegedly admit that Cruz was "heavy-handed" but believed she had "addressed the issue" with him. Dante was in the care of other guardians up until recently, local NBC affiliate WTMJ reported, with other family members saying he had been living with relatives like Rosy Hudson — a woman who described herself as Dante's aunt — until returning to his parents' care.
Child Protective Services knew the parents, with Kurek reportedly having a CPS worker in her phone as "CPS b—."
A former neighbor of the couple claimed that there was a pattern of abuse. The parents would leave their twins "home alone" during the night, and the young kids would cry out for their parents, according to the criminal complaints. There were guns in the home, and Cruz was also believed to be selling marijuana from his car parked outside the residence.
Kurek and Cruz lived at home with their own two kids — namely, Dante and his twin sister — as well as three children from Kurek's previous relationship who would spend alternating weekends at their home.
Dante's twin sister was also interviewed — and seen with her own injuries. She had a bandage over her right eye, and when an officer asked her what happened, she reportedly responded, "Daddy hurt me." Her eye appeared to be swollen and she had several scratches on her face, as well as bruises throughout her body.
In the hallway of the home, investigators found "children's shoes with a red substance on one of the shoes that appeared consistent with blood," per the court documents. More than a pound of marijuana was also apparently found in the home.
Detectives believe Cruz beat his son on Friday, the day before he was found. When they asked the father how hard he had hit Dante, "on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the hardest Defendant Cruz could possibly strike another human being, Defendant Cruz admitted that it was 'a 7 or 8.'"
When shown the photos of Dante's injuries, he began to breathe heavily, authorities said, and stated, "I only used my hands."
Cruz is being held by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office on $250,000 bail, while Kurek is being held on $100,000 bail. They appeared in court on their charges this week.
A GoFundMe for Dante said "he was taken from us over this last weekend by the very people that were supposed to keep him safe in what we can only compare to a true crime documentary."
"Dante was a happy and loving boy that deserved so much better than what happened to him," the remembrance said. "He loved life and had the most amazing smile and laugh. His memory will forever live on with those of us who truly loved and cared for him."
