The mother of Elijah Vue, a 3-year-old boy whose skeletal remains were found last month by a hunter in Wisconsin, has been hit with further charges relating to the child’s death.
Katrina Baur has been charged with chronic neglect of a child resulting in death, neglecting a child, and resisting or obstructing an officer, authorities announced Thursday.
Her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, has been charged with physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death, hiding a corpse, and resisting or obstructing an officer.
Elijah Vue was last seen alive in February at Vang’s home in Two Rivers. Police have said his remains were found on September 7, about 3 miles from where he was last seen by a man preparing his property for deer season.
According to a criminal complaint, Baur had left her son with Vang on February 12 because she wanted Vang to teach him “to be a man.”
The 3-year-old allegedly was forced to take cold showers, stand for hours during time-outs, and was once photographed with a blindfold over his eyes and bruising on his face as he lay in bed, according to prosecutors.
Vang called police on February 20 and reported the boy missing, telling cops the boy had been in a bedroom with him while he was taking a nap. When he woke up three hours later, the child was gone, he told police.
Baur was charged in February and pleaded not guilty to one felony count of being a party to child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.
At that time, Vang was charged with one felony count of being a party to child neglect. He also pleaded not guilty to the February charges.
“Elijah was a young boy whose life was tragically cut short,” Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said at a news conference.
“This has been a complex investigation, involving meticulous review of hundreds of pages of police reports, video evidence and other materials. This is an incredibly tragic situation that has shaken our community.”
Bail hearings for Baur and Vang were expected to be held Friday.
