Inset left: Kourtney Eutsey (Fayette County District Attorney's Office). Inset middle: Sarah Shipley (WTAE/YouTube). Inset right: Renesmay Eutsey (Fayette County District Attorney's Office). Background: The home in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where the victims and suspects lived (WTAE/YouTube).
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against two women accused of killing a 9-year-old girl under their care and tossing her body in a "tote" bag and dumping it along a river.
Kourtney Eutsey, 31, and Sarah Shipley, 35, are both charged with first-degree murder in the death of Renesmay Eutsey.
The Fayette County District Attorney's Office in Pennsylvania announced that because it filed notices of aggravated circumstances against the two women, they face the death penalty if convicted of the murder charge.
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Renesmay was reported missing on Sept. 3, prompting Pennsylvania State Police to launch a search. Investigators ended up finding the child's body in a bag on the "shore bank" of the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, as Law&Crime previously reported.
Kourtney Eutsey is described as being a blood relative of the girl as well as her legal guardian and foster mother, and she was also caring for her own young children at the time of Renesmay's death. Shipley was also a legal guardian of the victim.
As officers were preparing to search Eutsey's home for any signs of Renesmay, a small child allegedly approached them and "apologized for not telling the truth" about what allegedly happened to Renesmay, an affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime says.
"I'm never going to see my baby sister again because she's in heaven," the child told officers, alleging that Kourtney Eutsey killed Renesmay and then put her body in a tote, per the affidavit.
The sibling claimed to have "overheard" Kourtney Eutsey talking with another adult — later alleged to be Shipley — about taking Renesmay to a river "far, far away."
The court document goes on: "[The child] stated that the only reason she came out of the room she was in was because she heard the victim screaming and crying and thought she needed help with something."
Eutsey and Shipley were allegedly "yelling at the victim and kicked her in her stomach," the affidavit alleges. The sibling reportedly told investigators: "[Renesmay] is dead now. I'm never gonna see her again. I miss her. She probably is alive. She might be alive."
Renesmay weighed just 45 pounds when police found her on Sept. 4, according to officials.
The deceased child's body showed signs of abuse and neglect, as well as cigarette burns, including one that "might have become infected," although the girl reportedly never received medical treatment.
The women are alleged to have abused other children in the house, too, in a manner described by law enforcement as torture.
Two of the children had missing teeth, which a doctor said was caused by teeth being pulled by pliers. The kids told the doctor that Shipley had pulled the teeth, according to local ABC affiliate WTAE.
The children were homeschooled, yet an 11-year-old girl living at the women's home did not know how to read, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy was reportedly chronically malnourished and dehydrated when doctors saw him.
The other children who were in the home when the defendants were arrested have been placed under the care of another family member, according to authorities.
Renesmay's biological mother was confounded by the alleged actions of the defendants.
"Why put her in a tote, in a garbage bag, and throw her away like she didn't mean anything?" asked Christina Benedetto in an interview with local CBS affiliate KDKA. "She meant something, at least to us," Benedetto said. "She meant everything to us."
Chris Perez contributed to this report.