Authorities in West Allis, Wisconsin, have charged a man and woman in the horrific death of their 4-year-old son, who was found unresponsive outside a local Dairy Queen. Police say the child suffered severe abuse and that both parents delayed seeking medical help for nearly an hour.
Devario Cruz, 21, faces multiple felony counts including first-degree reckless homicide, chronic child neglect, and repeated acts of physical abuse causing death. His partner, Charlotte Kurek, 31, has also been charged with chronic neglect of a child resulting in death and child neglect.
Investigators described the scene as one of the worst cases of abuse they had ever seen. “This was the most extensive and severe injuries that I have witnessed on a child,” one law enforcement officer said in the criminal complaint.
According to police reports, Cruz awoke around 7 a.m. on Saturday and found his son, Dante Campbell, unresponsive in his bedroom. The child appeared “blue” and “unreal,” as his father later told officers. Instead of dialing 911, Cruz reportedly told Kurek, “I don’t think [the victim] is alive, I think he is dead.”
Although Kurek screamed that they needed to go to a hospital, neither parent called emergency services immediately. Instead, after 8 a.m., they drove to a friend’s house leaving three other children home alone, and only then did Kurek call 911.
Dispatchers instructed the couple to pull over near a West Allis Fire Department. Cruz reportedly confessed at the scene, saying, “I killed my kid, I want to kill myself.”
Emergency personnel found Dante “stiff,” with “bone white” gums indicating prolonged oxygen loss. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Court documents detail “substantial bruising” and urine-soaked clothing. Investigators say the mother initially claimed Dante fell down the stairs, but later admitted she lied “out of fear for her own safety.”
Kurek told officers, “My son looked like he got his a— beat by a grown man,” admitting that Cruz was “heavy-handed” but believed she had “addressed the issue.”
Cruz allegedly confessed that he struck Dante “a 7 or 8” out of 10 in force, admitting, “I only used my hands.” Detectives believe the fatal beating occurred on Friday, one day before the child was found unresponsive.
Dante’s twin sister was found with visible injuries, including a swollen eye, scratches, and bruises. When questioned, she told officers, “Daddy hurt me.”
The couple’s home, shared with three other children from Kurek’s previous relationship, contained guns and more than a pound of marijuana, according to the criminal complaint. Police also discovered children’s shoes with blood-like stains in a hallway.
Neighbors and relatives alleged long-term abuse and neglect. A former neighbor told investigators the twins were often left “home alone” at night, crying for their parents.
Relatives said Child Protective Services had previously been involved with the family. Authorities found that Kurek had a CPS worker saved in her phone under the name “CPS b—.”
Cruz is being held on $250,000 bail, while Kurek remains in custody on $100,000 bail. Both appeared in Milwaukee County Court this week.
A GoFundMe page for Dante described him as “a happy and loving boy that deserved so much better than what happened to him.” The post continued, “He was taken from us over this last weekend by the very people that were supposed to keep him safe.”
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