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DETROIT — A teenager told authorities that her mother
killed two siblings and forced her to put one of the bodies in the
freezer of their Detroit home where both were found by an eviction crew.
Details
of death and extreme abuse emerged Thursday as Mitchelle Blair appeared
in court, two days after the bodies of a 9-year-old son, Stephen Berry,
and 13-year-old daughter, Stoni Blair, were discovered.
Blair,
35, is charged with child abuse, but she could face murder charges when
the bodies thaw and autopsies are performed, prosecutors said. Bond was
set at $1 million. An attorney hasn’t been assigned.
The Michigan
Department of Human Services is taking steps to end Blair’s rights to
two other children, a 17-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son. In a
court filing, the state said the teen described a house of horror, where
she and her surviving brother were beaten with an extension cord and
piece of wood, hit with a hot curling iron and burned with a clothing
iron.
“Blair tortured Stephen for approximately two weeks prior to
his death by tying a belt around his neck, throwing hot water on him
while in the shower and putting a plastic bag over his head,” the state
said, quoting the 17-year-old.
Stephen was “unresponsive” on Aug. 30, 2012, and Blair wrapped his body in bed linen and put him in the freezer, the state said.
Nine
months later, Blair became “enraged” when Stoni said she didn’t like
her surviving siblings and strangled the girl with a T-shirt and
suffocated her with a plastic bag, the department said.
Blair then made the teen “put Stoni in the deep freezer following her death,” the agency said.
The
8-year-old boy also was aware that his sister and brother were killed
and subsequently placed in the freezer, the department said.
Medical
exams revealed evidence of abuse, including numerous scars, on the
children. The teenager said neither she nor her siblings have attended
school for two years.
Earlier Thursday, Blair appeared in court on
child abuse charges via a video feed from a police lockup. Magistrate
Renee McDuffee entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf.
“The charges in this matter are so heinous,” McDuffee said in explaining the $1 million bond.
The state said it investigated allegations of abuse in 2002 and 2005. Blair was referred to counseling.
The
state said the two fathers of Blair’s surviving children are unfit to
care for them. Together they owe $50,000 in child support and haven’t
seen the kids in two to three years.
