Body of infant found in freezer in East Toledo; 2 arrested, Kenisha Pruitt, 20, & Antonio Cervantes, 18, & charged with murder/Kenisha gets life w/ parole after 20 yrs, Antonio gets 15 yrs

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Published: 4/14/2012 - Updated: 34 seconds ago

Body of infant found in freezer in East Toledo; 2 arrested

Two people were arrested Saturday afternoon after the discovery of an infant’s dead body Friday night in a freezer in the East Toledo house they formerly rented, police said.

Kenisha Pruitt, 20, now of 2631 Scottwood Ave., and Antonio Cervantes, 18, of 5324 Rector St., are charged with child endangerment and were booked into the Lucas County jail pending arraignments in Toledo Municipal Court Monday morning.

Sgt. Joe Heffernan, a Toledo police spokesman, said more charges were possible against the pair once an autopsy is performed on the female infant’s body.

Authorities said the landlord, identified in county records as Irene Gonzalez, was cleaning the house at 116 Paine Ave. after renters had moved out, and found the frozen corpse in a freezer. The woman reportedly called police immediately.

Officers were sent to the house at 8 p.m. Friday, and remained on the scene until about 3 a.m., a neighbor reported. Ms. Gonzalez, who was in the back yard at the house on Saturday afternoon, declined to comment.

Sergeant Heffernan said he did not know the infant’s approximate age, other than to describe her as “very young.”

According to the court affidavit signed by Toledo police Detective Lawrence Anderson, Ms. Pruitt and Mr. Cervantes had lived together at 116 Paine starting in November and “were currently in the process of moving out,” with no other adults known to have lived there during the ensuing time.

Family members told police Ms. Pruitt was believed in November to be pregnant, but no birth was ever reported, the detective wrote. The baby “appeared to have been a full-term birth,” the affidavit said.

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Landlord finds baby's body in freezer in East Toledo

The (Toledo) Blade Saturday April 14, 2012 5:56 PM

Two people were arrested this afternoon after the discovery of an infant’s dead body last night inside an East Toledo house, police said.

Kenisha Pruitt, 20, and Antonio Cervantes, 18, both formerly of 116 Paine Ave., were charged with child endangerment, Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. More charges were possible once an autopsy is performed on the body, the sergeant said.

The pair were to be booked into the Lucas County jail pending arraignments Monday in Toledo Municipal Court.

(Rest of the story at the above link.)

Wow. What idiots to move out and leave behind their dead baby girl in a freezer. I am in shock and thinking this young couple must not have it all together upstairs so to speak.

No lie LM! How could they 'forget' to clean out the freezer ? Unbelievable.

Thats just too hard to believe poor baby girl. How could someone put a baby in the freezer and then forget it when they move. Sounds like they wanted to get caught or were so messed up on drugs they didnt know the difference.

raine1953 wrote:No lie LM! How could they 'forget' to clean out the freezer ? Unbelievable.

I could not open that refrigerator/freezer ever again let alone use anything out of it EVER!!!

I agree with LM's and Sly's comments also.

Nor could I ever open that freezer again!

Slys Hunny wrote:Thats just too hard to believe poor baby girl. How could someone put a baby in the freezer and then forget it when they move. Sounds like they wanted to get caught or were so messed up on drugs they didnt know the difference.

You made my point better than I did. Thank you.

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$1M bail for Ohio pair after baby found in freezer

Updated: 12:01 p.m. Monday, April 16, 2012 | Posted: 12:00 p.m. Monday, April 16, 2012

The Associated Press

TOLEDO, Ohio —

Bail has been set at $1 million each for an Ohio couple charged after a 2-month-old child's body was found in the freezer of their home.

Court records show 20-year-old Kenisha Pruitt and 18-year-old Antonio Cervantes of Toledo were arraigned Monday on a charge of endangering children. Toledo Municipal Court records did not show attorneys for the couple, who requested public defenders.

Court documents allege Cervantes and Pruitt caused serious harm to a newborn infant found frozen at the couple's home. The documents say they had lived there since November and were moving out.

Court records also say family members believed Pruitt was pregnant in November but no birth was reported.

The (Toledo) Blade reports an autopsy was planned Monday.

In a barely audible voice, Kenisha Pruitt admitted in court Friday that she put her newborn baby under water, that she tied a shoestring around his little neck, that she killed him.

Kenisha Pruitt, with her attorney, James Anderson, struggles to give details on how she murdered her son. Pruitt pleaded guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to a charge of aggravated murder in the death of her newborn son.
“The reason that you submerged the child was to terminate the child’s life?” her attorney, James Anderson, asked his client.
“Yes,” she said.

Nearly a year after the newborn was found in a freezer in the East Toledo home where Pruitt and the baby’s father once lived, Pruitt, 21, of 2631 Scottwood Ave., pleaded guilty in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to aggravated murder.

In exchange for her plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

An outraged Judge Linda Jennings sentenced Pruitt to life in prison, telling her she would be eligible for parole in 20 years though there would be no guarantee she would be released then.

“Miss Pruitt, how could you do this?” Judge Jennings demanded. “How could you carry this baby inside of you for nine months and feel it move everyday and then kill it? How could you do this?”

“You committed the most heinous act imaginable, and if it could be any worse it was made worse by the fact that you planned it.”

When asked to tell the court what she had done, Pruitt’s attorney asked her a series of questions. Pruitt replied “Yes,” to each one.

She admitted she gave birth early on Jan. 30, 2012, in the bathroom of the Paine Avenue house where she lived with the baby’s father, Antonio Cervantes. She admitted she gave the baby to Mr. Cervantes while she got into the bathtub to clean herself.

She confirmed he handed the baby back to her and she held the baby under the water. She admitted that she handed the infant back to Mr. Cervantes, who gave her a shoelace to tie around the baby’s neck while the baby was still breathing.

Pruitt again answered “Yes,” when Mr. McDonald asked her if Mr. Cervantes took the baby out of the room and told her he wrapped the child in plastic.

The official cause of death issued by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office was submersion in water and ligature strangulation.

Shortly after Pruitt’s sentencing, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates used the opportunity to remind the public of the Ohio Safe Haven Law, which allows the parent of a newborn 30 days or younger to leave the baby at a police station, fire station, or hospital, with no questions asked.

Ms. Bates said she didn’t know if the parents in the recent case were aware of the law, or would have taken advantage of it if they had.

“There is absolutely no reason in our state why any infant should end up in a freezer,” Ms. Bates said.

She said the 30-day age limit is not interpreted strictly and said that there would be no attempt to track down the parents or guardians if the baby has not been injured.

The law encourages parents to call a phone number associated with the law to ask questions and, if they give up the baby, to report any medical information about the baby that would be useful.

Under the law, children left in a “safe haven” are turned over to the Lucas County Children Services Board and then offered for foster care and adoption.

The phone number is 419-265-2229 (BABY).

Given the opportunity to speak on her behalf in court, Pruitt said she was sorry for what she had done.

“I want to apologize to my family and to the baby’s father’s family,” Pruitt said.

Mr. Cervantes, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, child endangering, and abuse of a corpse, has a pretrial hearing in his case scheduled for March 12.

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4/24/2013
Saying there was no excuse for what he did, the Toledo man who stood by as his girlfriend submerged the couple’s new baby in a bathtub, then strangled the child with a shoelace said in court Tuesday that he would dedicate his time in prison to his son.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Myron Duhart gave Antonio Cervantes 15 years to do that.

The judge said he was disturbed to hear Cervantes refer to the newborn, whose body he placed and left in a freezer, as his son.

“It strikes me when you do that because I’m still not sure it’s hit you yet that you assisted in the termination of your son’s life,” Judge Duhart said. “Have you thought about that, really, when you mention your son?”

Cervantes, 19, of 5324 Rector Dr. pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter, endangering children, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse for his part in the infant’s death in January, 2012.

The child’s mother, Kenisha Pruitt, 21, of 2631 Scottwood Ave. pleaded guilty to aggravated murder Feb. 22 and was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years.

During her plea hearing, she admitted that after giving birth at the Paine Avenue home she shared with Cervantes, she held the baby underwater in the tub, then tied a shoelace that Cervantes had given to her around the baby’s neck.

The property’s landlord found the tiny corpse in the freezer April 13, 2012, while he was cleaning the house after the couple had moved out.

“Those acts are heinous and horrible so much so that it shocked the consciousness of the community,” Judge Duhart told Cervantes. “How could you do such a thing?”

Defense attorney Pete Rost told the court that it was not his client’s idea to kill the child, but he conceded Cervantes knew it was wrong, knew he could’ve stopped it, but didn’t.

Cervantes thanked his family and friends for their support.

“I apologize to them, and I especially apologize to my son who this happened to,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong. I take full responsibility for what I have done.”

Judge Duhart said the court received letters from not only family and friends but teachers and neighbors expressing support for Cervantes. Still, he said, that did not change what Cervantes did — or didn’t do to prevent his son’s death.

“As the father of this child, it’s your responsibility — I don’t care what the mother asked you to do or didn’t ask you to do or whatever her actions were — it’s your responsibility as the father to protect. You utterly failed in your job, your responsibility, and your duty as a man who fathered that child.”

Family members, who wept during the hearing, declined to comment afterward.
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OMG, these people are Monsters!!!