A long-delayed Milwaukee murder case that horrified the city is finally heading to a jury. On Monday, a trial is set to begin for Erik Mendoza, the Milwaukee man prosecutors say killed 5-year-old Prince McCree and dumped his body in a dumpster near 55th and Vliet, more than two years after the child was reported missing in October 2023.
According to WISN, jury selection is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Monday, after a court-ordered forensic evaluation that put the case on pause last year was completed.
What prosecutors allege
Prosecutors say Mendoza and his co-defendant, David Pietura, strangled McCree, then beat him with a golf club, a barbell and a concrete birdbath before wrapping his body and discarding it in a dumpster near 55th and Vliet. Those details come from charging documents and police accounts outlined by CBS58.
Legal status and what to expect
Mendoza has been charged as an adult. He initially entered a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea, which triggered an additional round of psychological testing before the case could move forward. That competency review, along with related motions, pushed back earlier court dates while doctors prepared their reports, WTMJ reported.
With those questions now addressed to the court’s satisfaction, the trial is expected to focus heavily on Mendoza’s role in the killing, his mental state at the time and his level of responsibility in a crime that has already produced one life sentence.
Pietura’s plea and sentence
Mendoza’s co-defendant, David Pietura, pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide in June 2024 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at a July hearing, according to FOX6. Prosecutors said Pietura admitted helping dispose of McCree’s body, and portions of the criminal complaint describe repeated and brutal abuse of the 5-year-old.
How the case reshaped alert rules
McCree’s killing did more than shock Milwaukee. It also exposed gaps in Wisconsin’s response to missing children and helped spur the bipartisan “Prince Act,” which Gov. Tony Evers signed in April 2024 to expand emergency alerts for certain missing kids who previously might not have qualified for an Amber Alert. The law lets authorities issue broader public notifications even when they do not have detailed suspect or vehicle descriptions, WBAY reported.
Neighbors and lawmakers say the case laid bare weaknesses in how missing-child reports are handled, and many in the community are expected to watch closely as Mendoza’s trial begins. Jury selection gets underway Monday morning, and the proceedings are likely to draw intense local attention inside and outside the courtroom.
