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Murder — Convicted and Sentenced

The Murder of Prince McCree

● Both Defendants Convicted Child Homicide Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Prince Act — 2024
Victim
Prince Rashon McCree
Age at Murder
5
Date of Murder
October 25, 2023
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Convicted
David Pietura and Erik Mendoza
Pietura Sentence
Life Without Parole — July 2024
Mendoza Status
Guilty Plea — Sentencing June 5, 2026
Legacy
The Prince Act — Signed April 2024
Prince Rashon McCree — 2018 to 2023
NamePrince Rashon McCree
Age5
FromMilwaukee, Wisconsin
SchoolKindergarten — Hawley Environmental School
MotherJordan Barger
SiblingsOne brother; one sister
Cause of DeathBeaten and strangled
LegacyThe Prince Act — signed April 9, 2024
The Victim

Prince Rashon McCree

Prince Rashon McCree was five years old. He had just started kindergarten that fall and had recently lost his second baby tooth. He loved Transformers, Spider-Man, Fortnite, Roblox, and school. His family said he was a happy little boy who loved his brother and sister very much. When he was younger, he loved Baby Shark. He was described by those who knew him as full of energy, curious, and deeply loved by his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone around him.

Prince lived with his mother Jordan Barger, his father, and his siblings in a multifamily home on Milwaukee's north side. On the morning of October 25, 2023, he woke up with a sore throat and stayed home from school. He went to the basement to play video games. He never came back upstairs.

His mother and father spent that night going door to door searching for him. Prince's father told Newsweek: "You did this to my baby. Erik, you broke us." His death led to a change in Wisconsin law. The PRINCE Act — Protection and Recovery Involving Non-Located Children Endangered — was signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on April 9, 2024, at Hawley Environmental School, Prince's own school. It expanded the state's Amber Alert system so that no child like Prince would slip through the cracks again.

01
Background

What We Know

On the morning of October 25, 2023, five-year-old Prince McCree woke up with a sore throat. His mother Jordan Barger allowed him to stay home from school. At approximately 9:00 a.m., Prince went to the basement of the family's multifamily home at the 2400 block of 54th Street in Milwaukee to play video games. Living in the basement in makeshift bedrooms were two men who shared the residence with Prince and his family: David Eugene Pietura, 27, and Erik Mendoza, 15. Prince regularly spent time with both men and knew them well. His mother believed he would be safe.

At some point that morning, Mendoza began choking and beating Prince in the basement. According to court documents, Pietura walked in on the assault, did not stop it, and joined in. The two beat Prince with their fists, a 30-pound barbell, a concrete birdbath, and a golf club. Mendoza had expressed wanting to kill Prince to Pietura on prior occasions and told him he never liked the boy. When Prince was dead, the two bound his arms and legs with duct tape, gagged him with rags, wrapped his body in garbage bags, and carried him approximately one mile to a dumpster behind a bar near Hawley Road and Vliet Street. Surveillance footage from a doorbell camera captured both men walking through alleys at approximately 2:00 p.m. carrying a white garbage bag, then returning without it.

When Jordan Barger returned home and could not find Prince, she called police at approximately 6:00 p.m. Milwaukee Police Department requested an Amber Alert be issued; the Wisconsin Department of Justice denied the request because the case did not meet the required criteria — no suspect description and no suspect vehicle had been identified. Officers searched the residence twice and expanded their search to more than 200 nearby residences and businesses. A police K-9 detected decomposition on sweatshirts in the home. A detective observed blood in the basement. Pietura, when questioned, attempted to move carpet runners to conceal blood and claimed the blood was from a bloody nose during roughhousing.

At approximately 7:45 a.m. on October 26, during a second interview, Pietura disclosed the location of Prince's body. Officers arrived at the dumpster approximately one hour later and found Prince McCree. He had multiple gashes to his head and scalp. A green rag had been stuffed inside his mouth. He was five years old.

02
Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

Morning — October 25, 2023
Prince Stays Home from School — Goes to the Basement
Prince McCree wakes up with a sore throat. His mother Jordan Barger allows him to stay home from school. At approximately 9:00 a.m. he goes to the basement to play video games with David Pietura, who lives there along with Erik Mendoza. Jordan later goes grocery shopping with Mendoza. While she is out, Mendoza and Pietura beat Prince to death in the basement using their fists, a barbell, a concrete birdbath, and a golf club.
Approximately 2:00 p.m. — October 25, 2023
Pietura and Mendoza Carry Prince to a Dumpster — Captured on Surveillance
Pietura and Mendoza bind Prince's body with duct tape, gag him with rags, place him in garbage bags, and carry him approximately one mile through alleys to a dumpster behind a bar near Hawley Road and Vliet Street. Doorbell camera surveillance footage captures both men walking with a white garbage bag and returning without it. Mendoza subsequently cleans blood from the basement floor with soap and water.
Approximately 6:00 p.m. — October 25, 2023
Jordan Barger Reports Prince Missing — Amber Alert Denied
Jordan calls police after searching the home and neighborhood and being unable to find Prince. Milwaukee PD requests an Amber Alert; the Wisconsin Department of Justice denies the request because no suspect description or suspect vehicle has been identified — requirements under the existing criteria. Prince's parents spend the night going door to door searching for him. Police search more than 200 residences and businesses.
October 25–26, 2023
Police Discover Evidence — Pietura Discloses Prince's Location
A police K-9 detects decomposition on sweatshirts inside the home. A detective observes blood in the basement. Pietura attempts to conceal blood stains and initially claims they are from a bloody nose. He is arrested for obstruction. At approximately 7:45 a.m. on October 26, during a second interview, Pietura discloses where Prince's body was left. Officers arrive at the dumpster at approximately 9:00 a.m. and find Prince McCree's body bound, gagged, and wrapped in garbage bags. He had been beaten to death.
October 30, 2023
Both Defendants Charged with First-Degree Intentional Homicide
David Eugene Pietura, 27, and Erik J. Mendoza, 15, are charged with first-degree intentional homicide and additional felonies including physical abuse of a child causing death and hiding a corpse. Mendoza is charged as an adult. Both face life in prison if convicted.
April 9, 2024
Governor Tony Evers Signs the PRINCE Act into Law
Governor Tony Evers signs the PRINCE Act — Protection and Recovery Involving Non-Located Children Endangered — at Hawley Environmental School, Prince's own school, in Milwaukee. The law expands Wisconsin's missing person alert system, adding a new Purple Alert for children under ten and children under 18 who are unable to return home without assistance. The legislation was prompted by Prince's case and the 2022 murder of 10-year-old Lily Peters in Chippewa Falls.
June 3, 2024 — July 26, 2024
Pietura Pleads Guilty — Sentenced to Life Without Parole
On June 3, 2024, David Pietura pleads guilty to first-degree intentional homicide. Two additional charges are dismissed as part of the plea but read into the record at sentencing. On July 26, 2024, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jean Marie Kies sentences Pietura to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the maximum sentence under Wisconsin law. At sentencing, Pietura states he believes he deserves the death penalty for what he did. Prince's mother Jordan Barger tells him: "I just don't know how you can say you loved him, then do what you did to him."
February 16, 2026
Mendoza Pleads Guilty — Sentencing Set for June 5, 2026
On the day his jury trial was scheduled to begin, Erik Mendoza, now 18, pleads guilty to five felony charges including first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse, and three counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety. A sixth charge is dismissed and read into the record. Judge Laura Gramling Perez accepts the pleas and schedules sentencing for June 5, 2026. The state recommends Mendoza serve life in prison with no eligibility for release for 50 years, citing his age and mental health history. A mandatory life sentence is required upon the guilty plea to first-degree intentional homicide.
03
Investigation

The Investigation

Milwaukee Police Department detectives responded to Prince's home on the evening of October 25, 2023, and began searching the property. A K-9 unit alerted on sweatshirts inside the residence, detecting the scent of decomposition. A detective noticed blood on the concrete floor of the basement. When David Pietura was questioned, he immediately attempted to reposition carpet runners over the blood and attributed the stain to roughhousing and a bloody nose. Detectives noted the explanation was inconsistent with the volume and location of the blood. Pietura was arrested for obstruction. GPS data from his cellphone contradicted his account of his movements that afternoon.

Doorbell surveillance footage from the neighborhood was recovered showing Pietura and Mendoza walking through alleys at approximately 2:00 p.m. on October 25, with Pietura carrying a white garbage bag cradled under both arms. The two were then seen approaching a dumpster near a bar on Hawley Road. They returned without the bag. The footage was decisive in establishing the timeline and the disposal of Prince's body.

During the investigation, police also learned that Mendoza had committed multiple stabbings in the Sherman Park neighborhood just two days before Prince was killed, on October 23, 2023. Within a 35-minute window between approximately 6:52 p.m. and 7:27 p.m., Mendoza stabbed three strangers in the back or neck. When questioned by police, he said he was bored and went outside to stab people. He said he felt a rush but felt bad afterward. Investigators recovered a butterfly knife connected to those stabbings. Pietura had also told police that Mendoza had discussed going out at night and stabbing multiple strangers in the past.

Forensic evidence recovered from the basement included blood matching Prince McCree's DNA. Physical evidence recovered from the scene and from the defendants supported the criminal complaints filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. Both defendants ultimately entered guilty pleas. Heaps of forensic evidence, surveillance footage, GPS records, and the eventual confessions of both Pietura and Mendoza built the case that prosecutors successfully brought to resolution.

Wisconsin Amber Alert Denied — Prompted the Prince Act
Prince McCree
Surveillance Still — Pietura and Mendoza Carrying Garbage Bag — Oct. 25, 2023
Butterfly Knife — Recovered in Connection with Mendoza's Prior Stabbings
04
The Convicted

David Pietura and Erik Mendoza

David Eugene Pietura
David Eugene Pietura
Born circa 1996 — Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Age 27 at time of crime
Relationship to Victim: Lived in the basement of the same multifamily home as Prince and his family; known to Prince
Role: Participated in the beating; did not intervene to stop the assault; struck Prince with a 30-pound barbell; bound the body and participated in its disposal
Charges Filed: First-degree intentional homicide; physical abuse of a child causing death; hiding a corpse
Plea: Guilty — first-degree intentional homicide — June 3, 2024
Sentenced: July 26, 2024 — Milwaukee County Circuit Court — Judge Jean Marie Kies
Sentence: Life in prison without the possibility of parole
Statement at Sentencing: "For my involvement, I feel death would be right. We can't go back in time. We can only move forward. Prince can't, but I can. And that ain't right."
Erik J. Mendoza
Erik J. Mendoza
Born circa 2008 — Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Age 15 at time of crime; age 18 at time of plea
Relationship to Victim: Lived in the basement of the same multifamily home; Pietura stated Mendoza "never liked" Prince and had discussed wanting to kill him
Role: Primary attacker; choked and beat Prince with a golf club, a barbell, and a concrete birdbath; cleaned the basement after the killing
Prior Acts: Stabbed three strangers in the Sherman Park neighborhood on October 23, 2023 — two days before Prince's murder
Charged: As an adult — first-degree intentional homicide; physical abuse of a child; hiding a corpse; three counts of recklessly endangering safety
Plea: Guilty — five of six charges — February 16, 2026 — Judge Laura Gramling Perez
Mandatory Sentence: Life in prison — required upon first-degree intentional homicide conviction
Sentencing: June 5, 2026 — State recommends minimum 50 years before eligibility for release
The Prince Act — Legislative Legacy

Prince McCree's death exposed a critical gap in Wisconsin's Amber Alert system. Because Milwaukee Police had no suspect description or suspect vehicle information when Prince went missing, the Wisconsin Department of Justice denied the Amber Alert request — even as two men who lived in the same house as Prince were carrying his body through alleys less than a mile away. Governor Tony Evers signed the PRINCE Act into law on April 9, 2024, at Hawley Environmental School — Prince's own school — expanding the system to include a Purple Alert for children under ten and those unable to return home on their own. Prince's parents expressed the hope that the law would protect every child and prevent more families from experiencing what they had endured.

In Memoriam

He Is Not Forgotten

Prince McCree was five years old. He had just lost his second baby tooth. He had just started kindergarten. He loved Transformers and Spider-Man and Roblox. On the morning of October 25, 2023, he had a sore throat, so he stayed home from school. He went downstairs to play video games with someone he trusted. He never came back up.

His parents spent that night going door to door. His mother's calls to police could not produce an Amber Alert because the system required information no one had yet. He was found the next morning in a dumpster, bound, gagged, and wrapped in garbage bags, one mile from his home.

The law changed because of him. A new alert — a Purple Alert, for children under ten who cannot get home on their own — now carries his name in its origin. It was signed at his school. His parents stood there and said they hoped it would help every child. That is the kind of family he came from.

Both of the men who killed him are going to prison for the rest of their lives. Justice has been served, but Prince cannot be brought back. He was five years old. He is not forgotten.

"Prince Rashon McCree was such a happy little boy who loved his brother and sister very much. Our little angel was very loved by his father, mother, brother, sister, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and many other loved ones and friends."
McCree Family Statement
Sources
Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office | Milwaukee Police Department | FOX6 Milwaukee — multiple reports 2023–2026 | CBS 58 — multiple reports 2023–2026 | WTMJ | TMJ4 | WOOD TV | NBC News | Newsweek | Court TV | Associated Press | Wisconsin Circuit Court Access | Criminal Complaint — David Pietura | Criminal Complaint — Erik Mendoza | Press Release — October 30, 2023
Prince Rashon McCree — 2018 to 2023
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