Records: Mom forced daughter to put dead sister in freezer

Before Stephen Berry and Stoni Blair's frozen bodies were discovered in a deep freezer at their Detroit apartment, the siblings suffered horrific abuse at the hands of their mother, a court document filed today alleges.

So did their surviving brother and sister, who knew their siblings were in the freezer.

The record also revealed another disturbing allegation – that the oldest child was forced by her mother to place Stoni's body in the freezer after she died.

The children's mother, Mitchelle Blair, has been arraigned on child abuse charges and is being held on a $1-million bond due the "heinous" nature of the allegations against her, 36th District Court Magistrate Renee McDuffee said today. She could end up facing murder charges, an assistant prosecutor said.

As first reported by the Free Press, the petition filed in Wayne County Juvenile Court details allegations of the abuse that led up to Stephen and Stoni's deaths at their home in the Martin Luther King Apartments. The causes of their deaths are not yet known, as the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office waits for their frozen bodies to thaw before performing autopsies.

The petition – which includes information from interviews with both surviving children – alleges that Blair, 35, tortured Stephen in the two weeks before his death by tying a belt around his neck, throwing hot water on him and putting a plastic bag over his head.

It says that on Aug. 30, 2012, Stephen, then age 9, was found unresponsive and Blair wrapped his body in a bed linen and placed him in the freezer.

About nine months later, the petition alleges, Stoni suffered the same fate – being killed and stuffed in the freezer.

Blair is accused of burning Stoni on the back with a clothing iron, hitting her with a two-by-four, causing a cut above her left eye and striking her with a hot curling iron, breaking one of her teeth.

"Her mother refused to provide her with medical treatment," the petition alleges.

According to the petition, on May 25, 2013, Stoni told her mother that she did not like her siblings. "Mitchelle Blair became enraged and strangled Stoni with a black T-shirt and suffocated her with a plastic bag," according to the document.

After the then 13-year-old died, Blair is accused of then making her older daughter "put Stoni in the deep freezer."

The children were found in the freezer Tuesday by a crew working to evict Blair from her apartment.

Blair admitted she killed the children, telling police she believed they had sexually assaulted a child, a person familiar with the investigation said. There is nothing to indicate the child had been sexually assaulted, the source said.

During her arrest on Tuesday, Blair reportedly said: "They're both dead! I did it!" according to police.

The Michigan Department of Human Services is seeking to terminate Blair's parental rights, as well as the parental rights of the fathers of her two surviving children, who are now in the care of a relative.

Blair was arraigned earlier today in Detroit's 36th District Court on four counts of first-degree child abuse and one count of committing first-degree child abuse in the presence of another child. She was not represented by an attorney and was ordered not to have contact with her children, relatives and neighbors.

She has several upcoming court hearings. In the criminal case, Blair is due back in court April 2 for a probable cause hearing and has a preliminary examination scheduled for April 9. In the parental custody case, a hearing is scheduled for April 8.

Surviving children also abused, petition says

The petition alleges that Blair's two surviving children, ages 8 and 17, also had been abused.

The 8-year-old told officials on Tuesday that "he knew his sister and brother were killed and subsequently placed in the freezer," the record says.

The petition also says the child has 25 scars and injuries on his back "both old and new, as a result of physical abuse by Mitchelle Blair," as well as "numerous loop-shaped scars and injuries" on his body.

"These injuries are consistent with Mitchelle Blair using an extension cord to physically abuse them," the petition says.

It also says that the 17-year-old "has also been beaten with a cord." The teen told authorities neither she nor her siblings have gone to school in two years.

During today's juvenile court hearing – with the Free Press being the only media in attendance – Referee Nicholas Bobak authorized counseling and psychological and psychiatric evaluations for the two children.

Fathers hadn't seen children in years

Blair was patched into the juvenile court hearing by phone from the Detroit Detention Center, as the two fathers of her children sat in the courtroom.

The fathers – who both declined to comment after the hearing – hadn't seen their children in years and owed thousands of dollars in child support.

The record shows Alexander Dorsey, the father of Stoni and Blair's 17-year-old daughter, owes $39,000 and Steven Berry, the father of Stephen and Blair's 8-year-old son, owes more than $12,000.

According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Berry spent time in prison on weapons offenses, was paroled in April 2013 and was discharged from parole last year.

The petition says each father "failed to protect his children from an unfit home environment where the children were physically abused, tortured, and murdered."

During the hearing, Blair interjected and said: "Can I say something?"

Bobak told her he was going to have her talk to her appointed attorney, Janice L. Burns, privately on the phone before she spoke.

"I want this to be on record, though, so I don't want to just say it to the lawyer," Blair said.

After having a private conversation with Blair, Burns told Bobak there was "nothing I want her to say, your honor."

Children's Protective Services interviewed Dorsey and Steven Berry on Wednesday.

Dorsey said he last saw his children about two years ago and Steven Berry said he last saw his children in April 2012, according to the petition.

Both fathers said Blair prevented them from seeing their children.

The petition says that about seven months ago, Dorsey asked his older daughter about Stoni's whereabouts and she told him the girl was visiting their material great aunt, Angela Gordon. Steven Berry told authorities Blair told him the same thing when he asked about Stephen.

Gordon, a retired Detroit police child abuse investigator, is now caring for the two surviving children. On Wednesday, she said Blair had been estranged from her family for about two years and described her as being "very, very strict" with her children.

This isn't the family's first contact with Children's Protective Services.

According to the petition, the family had prior contacts with CPS on Sept. 18, 2002 and Feb. 21, 2005. The details of those investigations are not included in the court document, but it says they "were substantiated." The petition says that after the February 2005 complaint, Blair was referred for services, including counseling.

Department of Human Services spokesman Bob Wheaton said state law prohibits the agency from commenting on Children's Protection Services investigations or actions taken.

In addition to the abuse allegations, the petition also indicates that Blair had continued receiving assistance for all four of her children.

"Mitchelle Blair received $771 per month in food assistance for four children through March 2015, accepting governmental benefits for the two deceased children," the petition says. It says she also received Medicaid for the four children through this month, as well, and last accepted child support for Stephen and her other son in December 2014.

Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com

Contact Elisha Anderson: 313-222-5144 or eanderson@freepress.com