Erik Mendoza was sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 50 years for the murder of 5-year-old Prince McCree, a Wisconsin boy who was beaten to death with a golf club and a concrete birdbath pedestal before his body was wrapped in garbage bags and discarded in a dumpster.
Background
Prince McCree vanished from his Milwaukee home on Oct. 25, 2023. According to court records, Prince's mother kept him home from school that day because he woke up with a sore throat. She left him under the supervision of David Pietura Jr., who lived in the family's basement while she went food shopping.
When she returned, Prince was gone. The lights in the basement were off and no one was there. Pietura told her he had not seen the boy.
Prince's mother called police. Detectives found blood on the basement floor. When questioned, Pietura claimed that he and Mendoza had been "roughhousing" and that Mendoza ended up with a bloody nose.
Investigators later used Bluestar forensic reagent to reveal additional blood evidence throughout the basement. Cellphone records contradicted Pietura's account. A large amount of blood was found on his right leg, and detectives noted his changing stories.
The Investigation
On Oct. 26, 2023, a K-9 unit detected human decomposition at the residence. Investigators located the golf club near a furnace after Pietura told detectives he witnessed Mendoza beating Prince with it, authorities said. Officers also recovered surveillance video showing Pietura and Mendoza disposing of Prince's body that afternoon.
Prince's blood-soaked body was recovered later that morning, "bound and gagged" and wrapped in duct tape and white garbage bags. Police determined the boy had been dead for some time.
Mendoza was arrested that afternoon. Confronted with video evidence and the condition of Prince's body, he eventually admitted, "I strangled him," according to court records. He acknowledged striking the boy with the golf club, stating he knew Prince was still alive because he was "foaming from the mouth and crying."
Mendoza told investigators that after the initial attack, both he and Pietura took the boy outside where he stomped on Prince's head approximately 10 times. They "punched and kicked" the child until he appeared lifeless before preparing to dispose of his body.
Pietura later admitted he also participated in beating Prince. When the boy continued to whimper, Pietura dropped a 30-pound barbell on his head, according to authorities. The two then "took turns" striking the bound and gagged child with the golf club while he was inside garbage bags. Finally, Pietura located a concrete birdbath pedestal and dropped it on Prince's head twice.
"The boy never made another sound," prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Mendoza also confessed to three earlier random stabbings in the neighborhood, telling police he was "bored" and "wanted to stab someone badly."
The Charges
Mendoza, now 18, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse, and three counts of reckless endangerment. He was tried as an adult despite defense efforts to have him assessed as a juvenile.
His attorney attempted to have the case dismissed and sought to have Mendoza evaluated for insanity. Court records indicate Mendoza was ruled competent to stand trial.
Pietura, 29, pleaded guilty in June 2024 to first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Key Takeaways
- Prince McCree was 5 years old when he died on Oct. 25, 2023, after being beaten with a golf club and a concrete birdbath pedestal
- Erik Mendoza was 15 at the time of the murder; he will be eligible for parole after serving 50 years
- David Pietura Jr., who also participated in the killing, received life without parole
- Prince's body was recovered wrapped in garbage bags from a dumpster near his home
- Mendoza admitted to three prior random stabbings in the neighborhood
What's Next
Mendoza begins serving his sentence at a Wisconsin state correctional facility. Pietura is already serving his life term. No further court proceedings are expected as both defendants pleaded guilty.
"When he killed my baby, he killed me," Prince's father Darron McCree said during the sentencing hearing. He added that if given the opportunity, "I will strangle this guy." Due to past courtroom outbursts, McCree was required to address Mendoza from behind a glass partition in the gallery.
Prince's mother Jordan Barger spoke with WISN after the hearing: "I'm glad justice got served for my baby. That's all that matters to me, and I just hope basically he gets what he deserves in there because my 5-year-old didn't deserve that."