WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW
TWO RIVERS, Wis. — The mother of a 2-year-old boy and her two roommates are in custody today, accused of abusing the toddler and causing his death.
Rena Santiago, Bianca Bush, and David Heiden Monday in Manitowoc Circuit Court on requested child abuse charges. No formal charges have been filed, but a judge ordered each suspect held on a $100,000 cash bond. Charges are expected to be formalized by May 6, when the trio will each make an initial appearance.
An investigation began Friday in Two Rivers when officers responded to an E. River Street apartment and discovered the boy was not breathing. The toddler was declared dead shortly after the officers’ arrival, according to WLUK.
In the probable cause document, obtained by WLUK, officials say the boy’s other admitted hitting the boy with a shoe, a belt, and an open hand and said she and her two roommates all participated in the abuse.
Santiago also allegedly admitted engaging in prostitution and smoking marijuana with the child inside the apartment, court documents state.
Heiden admitted he spanked the victim, “then picked victim up by his sides with his hands around the victim’s torso and shook the victim with force while yelling at him to go to sleep,” the document states.
