A foster mother in Pennsylvania is facing criminal charges for allegedly hiding the death of a 9-year-old girl under her care and discarding her body near a river, as per police reports and the child’s biological mother. The accused, Kourtney Eutsey, 31, is said to have placed the child’s body in a tote bag and discarded it “as if she were trash.”
The biological mother of the deceased child, Renesmay Eutsey, Christina Benedetto, expressed her grief and disbelief in an interview with a local CBS affiliate. She questioned the inhumanity of treating her daughter’s body like garbage, emphasizing that Renesmay was cherished by her biological family.
Eutsey is facing several charges, including homicide, abuse of a corpse, and endangering the welfare of a child. These charges are related to the alleged disposal of Renesmay’s body near the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, as stated in her criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
Renesmay had been under Eutsey’s care since 2019 and was reported missing recently, leading to the Pennsylvania State Police initiating a search. Eutsey, a blood relative of Renesmay, was also taking care of her own children, aged 7, 4, and 2, at the time of the incident.
As the police were preparing to search Eutsey’s residence for any signs of Renesmay, a young child reportedly approached them and confessed to withholding the truth about what happened to Renesmay. The child claimed that Eutsey had killed Renesmay and placed her body in a tote.
The child also alleged to have overheard Eutsey discussing with another adult about taking Renesmay to a distant river. The child stated that they had come out of their room because they heard Renesmay crying and thought she needed help. The child further alleged that Eutsey and the other adult were yelling at Renesmay and had kicked her in the stomach.
When questioned by the police, the child reportedly said that they didn’t understand the concept of death until a family member explained it to them. The child described seeing Renesmay with white lips and appearing as if she were asleep.
Renesmay’s body, which weighed only 45 pounds, was found by the police showing signs of abuse and neglect, including cigarette burns. One of the burns seemed to have become infected, but there was no evidence of medical treatment. Eutsey allegedly admitted to being afraid to call 911 due to the child’s physical condition.
The cause of Renesmay’s death has not yet been disclosed by local authorities. Eutsey’s three biological children have been removed from her home and are currently under the care of another relative.