A nation that is seemingly obsessed with babies being born apparently does not care about what happens to the said baby once they are in the world. In a shocking case of abuse, neglect, and extreme failure of the foster system, 9-year-old Renesmay Eutsey was found dead and stuffed in a tote near a river in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
Renesmay was placed with her relatives, who were considered a safer and better option for her care, after she was taken away from her drug-addicted mother, who was reduced to a corpse. According to the criminal report, Kourtney Melinda Eutsey (31) is named as her foster parent and legal guardian.
BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against two women charged in the death of 9-year-old Renesmay Eutsey in Fayette County.
— KDKA (@KDKA) November 21, 2025
Aside from Kourtney, the paper also names Sarah Shipley as her legal (35) legal guardian. Both women have been arrested on the charges of first-degree murder of Renesmay and could face the death penalty due to the aggravated circumstances of the crime.
Prosecutors at the Fayette County District Attorney’s Office have already filed the notice and will ask for the maximum punishment.
According to Law&Crime, on September 3rd, Renesmay Eutsey was reported missing by her Uncle, and a police search was launched. The search began at the Eutsey household since the child was last seen at the house. During the search, officers came in contact with Kourtney’s own children, who had apparently approached them.
Reports have suggested one of the children in the home allegedly came up to the officer and apologized for not telling the truth. The child then went on to claim that their sibling, Renesmay, is probably gone and is in heaven.
“I’m never going to see my baby sister again because she’s in heaven,” the child told officers.
According to the court documents, the child also told the police how they came out of their room earlier, hearing the screams of the victim, and had seen their mother and the other parent yelling at her and kicking her on her stomach.
The court affidavit also suggested that the child had heard Kourtney tell Sarah to leave her far, far away, near the river. This testimony then led police to search the length of the riverbank, where eventually Renesmay Eutsey’s body was found in a tote with six rocks in the garbage bag, as reported by CBS News.
Once the victim’s body was found, the evidence of abuse was clearly there. The child weighed 45 pounds and had bruises all over her body, indicating abuse. The child also had cigarette burns on her body, and one of the burn wounds was infected.
A distraught uncle
desperately searching for his missing niece in Dunbar, Fayette County.
Sources tell me detectives from
PA State Police in Uniontown are interviewing an adult woman & foster mom of missing 9 y/o Renesmay Eutsey.
Watch⬇️https://t.co/OwWiJb4SMD@KDKA pic.twitter.com/ctmqB2GBoR
— Jennifer Borrasso (@JenBorrasso) September 4, 2025
The police have found similar abuse marks on the children in the home, which were clearly inflicted upon them by the adults in the house. Once the children were removed from the custody of the accused women, the horror of abuse and torture came out.
Two of the children had missing teeth that were clearly pulled out by pliers, as per the doctor’s reports. The boy was severely malnourished, just like the deceased child.
Though the women claimed to have taken good care of the kids, the evidence claimed something else. The kids could not read or study.
The preliminary hearing for the case took place on 14th November, where the Commonwealth presented 11 witnesses that included state troopers and the doctor who assessed the children in the house.
As stated earlier, the prosecutor’s office will go for the harshest punishment as they have claimed it to be a premeditated murder.
