Mom of children found in freezer charged with murder

Gina Damron and Elisha Anderson | Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — The mother of two children found in a deep freezer in a Detroit apartment is now facing murder charges.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday that Mitchelle Blair — already facing child abuse charges — is also being charged with two counts each of felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder and torture in the deaths of her children Stoni Ann Blair and Stephen Gage Berry.

Stoni is believed to have been 13 years old when she died and Stephen 9. If they were alive today they would be 15 and 11.

They were found last week at their apartment at the Martin Luther King Apartments by a crew carrying out an eviction.

Blair admitted to killing her children and, according to police, was heard saying, "They're both dead! I did it!" during her March 24 arrest.

"The alleged facts in this case present examples of why we must all be diligent and involved citizens. A good way to protect society's children is to be alert and look out for your neighborhood youth, refuse to look the other way, and report what you know when necessary," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "Even though we are issuing these charges today, this tragic case remains under investigation."

Blair, 35, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning on the amended charges during a previously-scheduled probable cause hearing.

Her attorney, Wyatt Harris, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Blair was previously charged with four counts of first-degree child abuse and one count of committing first-degree child abuse in the presence of another child.​

Last week she was arraigned on those charges. Blair is being held in the Wayne County Jail on a $1 million bond. A plea of not guilty was entered for Blair on those charges last week.

A petition filed in Wayne County juvenile court last week alleges that Blair abused all four of her children, including her surviving daughter and son, who are in the care of a relative.

According to the court document, it's alleged that Blair tortured Stephen by tying a belt around his back, throwing hot water on him and putting a plastic bag over his head in the two weeks before his death. When Blair found Stephen unresponsive on Aug. 30, 2012, she wrapped his body in a bed linen and put him in the freezer, the petition said.

About nine months later, on May 25, 2013, Blair strangled Stoni with a T-shirt, suffocated her with a plastic bag and then made her older daughter place Stoni in the freezer after she died, the document said.

Stoni died from multiple blunt trauma and Stephen died from multiple blunt trauma and thermal injuries. Both deaths were ruled homicides, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

The prosecutor's office said in a news release Wednesday that the office "is continuing the investigation regarding the deaths of Stoni Blair and Steven Berry while waiting for the autopsy report from the Wayne County Medical Examiner."

A joint funeral service for the children is set for April 13.

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