JEANEEN MARIE KLOKOW - 7 months (1957) Milwaukee WI

53 Years Later, Mother Charged in Infant Daughter's Death

Feb 6, 2011

James Klokow had watched enough TV shows to know that police have a lot more tools today to solve tough cases than they did when he was a little boy.

And so, on a summer day two years ago, the 55-year-old Sheboygan, Wis., man walked into his city's police department and told detectives what he believed: that his mother killed his baby sister five decades earlier.

Now Ruby Klokow, 74, stands charged with second-degree murder in the March 1, 1957, death of 7-month-old Jeaneen Marie Klokow. She is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in Sheboygan County Circuit Court.

Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department / AP
Ruby Klokow, a 74-year-old Wisconsin woman, was charged
Tuesday in the death of her infant daughter more than 50 years ago.

The charges, filed last week, came after two police detectives listened to James Klokow's suspicions and then dusted off the files from an original police investigation that declared the death an accident -– the girl's mother said the baby had fallen from a sofa and hit her head.

But this time, in an interview with police detectives, Ruby Klokow "stated she shouldn't have had any children, wished that she never had children, and knew she was 'mean' to them," according to the criminal complaint.

The charge of second-degree murder no longer even exists in Wisconsin.

Klokow was charged based on the criminal statutes as written in 1957, police said in a news release. She faces up to 25 years in prison, if convicted. The charge is about the same as a reckless homicide charge today.

At an initial court appearance on Tuesday, Klokow was ordered held on a $10,000 cash bond. Dressed in a red jail jumpsuit, she repeatedly asked the court commissioner to explain what a preliminary hearing is and how to get a lawyer, according to the Sheboygan Press.

"I don't think it's going to make any difference if I have an attorney or not," she added, according to the newspaper.

At the time of Jeaneen's death, Klokow was an overwhelmed mother of four battling her own childhood trauma, she told the detectives in the initial interview last year, according to the criminal complaint.

After interviewing other family members and reviewing a detailed autopsy report of the death, the detectives decided last summer to exhume the remains of Jeaneen and another child, Scott Klokow, who was found dead in his crib in 1964.

A forensic pathologist discovered Jeaneen had three scalp bruises and two brain hemorrhages, which he said were consistent with abuse rather than an accidental fall, the criminal complaint said. The detectives then went back to interview Klokow again.

This time, they said, she admitted she was frustrated that both Jeaneen and James Jr. were crying at the same time, so she grabbed Jeaneen from her stroller and threw her toward the couch, the complaint said. The baby, she said, let out a "different kind of cry" and her eyes looked strange, according to the complaint.

"We have to recognize it was something that happened in 1957 ... and it wasn't intentional, although it was reckless," Sheboygan District Attorney Joe DeCecco told the Sheboygan Press.

"She had a lot of kids at a relatively young age, she wasn't happy in her marriage, there was a lot of drinking going on there and she had a temper."

The criminal complaint details a long list of other abuse against the children, including allegations that she broke James Jr.'s arm and nose in separate incidents, and injured his knees by kicking him with steel-toed boots on multiple occasions.

The complaint also says she made younger brother Bruce stand in a corner with a paper bag on his head at the age of 5 or 6 while she hit each of his toes with a hammer. And Ruby Klokow's mother and a sister both said they had seen Bruce bleeding from the face while sitting in his crib, according to the complaint, which notes that Bruce Klokow is mentally handicapped.

Although the statute of limitations has expired on the other abuse allegations, DeCecco said they were included in the complaint because the statute under which Klokow was charged requires prosecutors to prove she caused the death "through dangerous conduct, evincing a depraved mind."

No charges have been filed in Scott Klokow's death.

"She talked very freely about Jeaneen," DeCecco said, according to local news affiliate Fox 11. "She adamantly denied having anything to do with Scott."

Sheboygan police detective Paul Olsen, who investigated the case with detective Paul Hammann, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinelthat James Klokow first came forward because he'd been watching television shows about solving old crimes and hoped that with the advancements in forensics "maybe something could be done."

But, Olsen added, it's a shame that no one either helped or prosecuted Ruby Klokow back in the late 1950s.

"It's a different world now," he told the newspaper.

Memories Flood Back for Sister of Woman Charged in 1957 Murder

Feb 9, 2011 – 2:29 PM

MILWAUKEE -- For more than half a century, Judith Post has tried to stifle the memories surrounding her infant niece's death. Now that her older sister faces a murder charge in the 54-year-old case, Post has been forced to confront once again the painful thoughts she hoped would remain undisturbed.

Ruby Klokow, 74, of Sheboygan, was charged this month in the 1957 death of her daughter, after her son came forward to police in 2008 with stories of horrific childhood abuse. Klokow was due to appear in court Wednesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing.

Eric Litke, The Sheboygan Press / AP
Ruby Klokow, 74, appears in Sheboygan County Circuit Court on Feb. 1 after being charged with second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her infant daughter.

Post, Klokow's 69-year-old sister, isn't sure what to make of the allegations. She told The Associated Press that Klokow regularly abused her when they were children and that she once watched Klokow toss her baby daughter Jeaneen several feet to the ground.

"How do I feel about how she should be punished? I don't know," Post said, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath. Then she sighed and said, "That's up to God."

The case is proceeding now because of James Klokow Jr. The 55-year-old went to police with stories of his mother regularly beating him, choking him and kicking him in the legs with steel-toed boots so often that he still has knee problems. He spoke of his mother breaking his arm and nose. He said she once forced him to stay in the basement for so long that he quenched his thirst by lapping water from the floor. He also described his mother covering the head of his mentally challenged younger brother with a bag and striking the wailing boy's toes one by one with a hammer.

But despite the physical torture, James Klokow told investigators, one of the worst pains he endured was his mother blaming him for his 7-month-old sister's death.

Klokow's attorney, Kirk Obear, said his client would plead not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder. He said he hasn't yet seen the prosecutors' evidence, and he questions the circumstances under which she was asked about, and allegedly admitted to, something that happened five decades earlier.

"She is older, and like anybody her age she has difficult remembering things from that long ago," he said. "She's very worried. I think she's confused about why this is happening at this point."

Prosecuting old cases can be difficult -- memories fade, evidence degrades, witnesses die and records can disappear. The Sheboygan County district attorney acknowledges he wouldn't even have a case if Klokow hadn't admitted to investigators that she caused the baby's death.

No charges were filed after Jeaneen's death in 1957. Ruby Klokow told police the baby had fallen off a sofa while she was tending to a crying James. A family doctor told police the parents were "irresponsible," but he didn't think there was anything criminal about Jeaneen's death.

Another of Ruby's children, Scott, was found dead in his crib seven years later under circumstances that are unclear; no charges were filed in that case.

In Jeaneen's case, an autopsy found she suffered two brain hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises. A forensic pathologist who recently reviewed the documents said the severity of the injuries was not consistent with Klokow's explanation.

Post described for the AP how when she was a child, Klokow often tied her and four other siblings to chairs and punched them. She said Klokow had been thrust unwillingly into a baby-sitting role as a teen.

Post also recalled a night when she had been baby-sitting Jeaneen and her sister and brother-in-law came home drunk, arguing loudly. She said Klokow tore Jeaneen out of her arms and tossed the baby a few feet toward her husband, saying something to the effect of, "Here, catch." The husband, who died in 2009, made no effort to catch the baby, Post said.

"I don't know if she intentionally meant that or whatever," Post said, her voice lowered almost to a whisper. "That's why I tried to put that way back behind my mind. I blame both of them."

It's not clear how the alleged incident might relate to Jeaneen's death. Post said she never otherwise witnessed her sister abusing her children.

According to the criminal complaint, Klokow told investigators in January that Jeaneen had fallen off the couch but later admitted to being "a little rough" with the baby. She eventually said she had thrown Jeaneen against a sofa, where the baby bounced off and hit the ground, the complaint says. Klokow also admitted causing the infant's death and told investigators she was sorry, according to the complaint.

Those statements made 54 years after the baby's death could be the key to the case.

"Without her statements, her explanations, we probably wouldn't have this case," District Attorney Joe DeCecco said. "A central part of the case is her admission."

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/09/after-54-years-ruby-klokow-charged-in-babys-death/

Woman charged in baby's 1957 death denied release



Feb. 9, 2011



Sheboygan — A 74-year-old woman charged with murdering her baby daughter nearly 54 years ago will remain in the Sheboygan County Jail on $10,000 bail, a judge ruled Wednesday.

An attorney for Ruby Klokow had requested that she be allowed out on a signature bond, because she has no real means or incentive to leave the area where she's spent her life, voluntarily talked with detectives for hours last year and had plenty of opportunity to flee earlier but did not.

But Circuit Judge Angela Sutkiewicz said that given Klokow's age and the chance she could face a 25-year prison sentence if convicted, she would stick with the bail set previously by a court commissioner. She made the ruling after a preliminary hearing at which she also found probable cause to hold Klokow for trial.

Klokow was charged last week with second-degree murder, a crime under state laws in 1957, when her 7-month-old daughter, Jeaneen, died in March. Authorities at the time ruled the death an accident, after Klokow said the girl had fallen off a couch and hit her head.

But Klokow's son, who was just 2 at the time, went to police in 2008 and said he thought his mother had killed his sister, based on what he'd heard over the years from other relatives. He also thought she was responsible for the death of a brother who died as an infant in 1964.

That led to a two-year investigation that included two long interviews with Klokow in January and August of last year in which detectives say she ultimately admitted to throwing her daughter, and that she should be punished. She never admitted hurting the son who died, and police found no evidence to support charges in that death, which was attributed to crib death at the time.

At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, forensic pathologist Mark Witeck testified that based on his reading of police reports and an autopsy from 1957, and an examination of Jeaneen's skeletal remains last summer, there is no way she could have suffered internal brain bleed from falling 16 inches from a sofa to a rug. Klokow's husband, who died in 2009, was at work that day.

But Witeck admitted on cross-examination that an X-ray at the time showed no skull fracture, and that he didn't rely on any new technology unavailable in 1957 to reach his conclusion, only his more modern training.

Sheboygan Police Det. Paul Olsen summarized the investigation and his interviews with Klokow. Her attorney, Kirk Obear, asked him if he had used traditional interrogation techniques to get Klokow to talk.

"This case was a little different," Olsen testified. "We didn't use any tactics or techniques other than being cordial."

Klokow never said she had any intention of hurting the child, Olsen said.

Obear entered a not-guilty plea for Klokow, who wore dark red jail clothes and glasses. Her only statements were about her limited income.

After the hearing, Obear said Klokow is very concerned and upset, since she went through an investigation in 1957 and was cleared.

"It still doesn't sit well with me that these allegations come up so many years after the event," Obear told a throng of reporters. "I think there are going to be issues about how she was interviewed, how the statements were produced. What she actually said."

In supporting the cash bail, District Attorney Joe DeCecco cited Klokow's statements to detectives that she didn't want to go back to prison. Obear said it was a perfectly natural reaction; she had served six months in Taycheedah on an adultery conviction in the late 1950s, he said.

Obear said the conclusion in 1957, based on more and fresher evidence than is available now, was that the death was an accident.

"There's nothing to contradict that other than a modern view of old evidence," Obear said.

Obear, who volunteered to represent Klokow for free after reading about her case, said he expects it to go to trial because he thinks the evidence does not support a conviction.



http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/115689629.html

Abuse Evidence Allowed in Klokow Case

Friday, October 07, 2011 6:45 a.m. CDT

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WHBL) - Testimony about abuse of her children will be allowed as evidence in the trial of Ruby Klokow of Sheboygan. She’s the 75 year old woman charged in the death of her infant daughter in the city of Sheboygan 54 years ago. The death had been ruled accidental at the time, but the case was reopened last year when her son came forward. Klokow had claimed in 1957 that she had dropped the child but admitted during the investigation that she had thrown the child onto a couch during a fit of rage. During a hearing yesterday in Sheboygan County Court, Judge Angela Sutkiewicz ruled that a jury could hear evidence that Klokow was suspected of abusing her other children over a period of decades. Klokow is scheduled to go on trial in January.

http://wdez.com/news/articles/2011/oct/07/abuse-evidence-allowed-in-klokow-case/

Jail, Probation for 76-Year-Old Mom in 1957 Murder

Feb. 25, 2013

(MILWAUKEE) — A 76-year-old Wisconsin woman accused of killing her
infant daughter more than a half-century ago will serve 45 days in jail
and 10 years’ probation, under a plea agreement approved Monday.

Ruby Klokow was charged with second-degree murder in the 1957 death
of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen, only after her son, James Klokow
Jr., came forward in 2008 with horrific stories of childhood abuse.

District Attorney Joe De Cecco cited Klokow’s advanced age and health
as factors in the agreement approved by Sheboygan County District Judge
Angela Sutkiewicz. De Cecco said if Klokow had been tried, she might
have been acquitted altogether and walked free. A jury could no longer
have convicted her of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter, because of
the statute of limitations.

No charges were filed after Jeaneen’s death in 1957. Ruby Klokow told
the police that the baby had fallen off a sofa while she was tending to
a crying James. An autopsy found that Jeaneen had suffered two brain
hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises.

At a preliminary hearing five decades later, a forensic pathologist
who reviewed documents in the case testified that the severity of the
injuries didn’t match Klokow’s explanation.

According to a criminal complaint, Klokow admitted causing her daughter’s death.

Klokow had been free pending trial and will remain free until formal
sentencing April 15. After the plea hearing, she told reporters, “It’s
not over until it’s over.”

Her attorney, Kirk Obear, said he thought the case against Klokow was unfair.

“There were witnesses that could have been interviewed that have long since died,” he said.

Scott Klokow, another of Ruby Klokow’s children, was found dead in
his crib seven years after Jeaneen died. No charges have been filed in
his death.

Obear noted that Jeaneen and Scott were exhumed but that nothing was
discovered at odds with the initial accidental death rulings.

DeCecco’s announcement last week of a plea agreement came as a relief
to James Klokow, now 57. He said he had feared his mother “turning and
questioning (him) on the stand.” In an interview with The Associated
Press, he said his mother had regularly beaten and choked him.

The case was delayed several times after Klokow was charged in 2011,
including for mental tests to see if she was competent to stand trial.

http://nation.time.com/2013/02/25/jail-probation-for-76-year-old-mom-in-1957-murder/

This is not fair to the child she admittedly murdered nor the one she most likely murdered, nor the one whose brain she damaged.

I don't feel sorry for her even if she is an old lady. She got by with it for over half a century and should have spent the rest of her days in prison.

Wisconsin woman, 76, convicted of killing baby daughter in 1957 gets up to 10 years in prison

2013/05/01

A Wisconsin woman convicted of killing her baby more than 50 years ago has been sentenced to prison for up to 10 years.

Seventy-six-year-old Ruby C. Klokow (KLOH'-koh) of Sheboygan pleaded no contest three months ago in her daughter's 1957 death.

Prosecutors
previously agreed to recommend a jail sentence of 45 days because of
her age and medical issues. They also cited challenges associated with
prosecuting such an old case.

But Judge Angela Sutkiewicz delivered a harsher sentence.

When
the death was initially investigated Klokow told detectives the
6-month-old rolled off the couch and bumped her head. The death was
ruled accidental, but the case was reopened in 2008 after her adult son
came forward with stories of horrific child abuse.

Klokow said she's remorseful for her daughter's death.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/01...ntcmp=...

It's good little Jeaneen got justice. Even if it was over 50 years ago it's still a crime. That little girl could be a grandmother now but never had the chance. Sometimes justice is a little slow but at least in this case there is some. William

Moment 'evil monster' grandma, 76, who was expecting a 45-day sentence for killing her 6-month-old baby 56-years ago is jailed for TEN years by unrelenting judge

Ruby C. Klokow entered a no-contest plea to the murder charge
A deal led her to believe that she would spend less than a month behind bars
Judge Angela Sutkiewicz said it would have been an affront to justice
Was thought to be an accident until Klokow's son accused her of abuse
Klokow admitted throwing Jeaneen roughly on the couch and dropping her on the floor

By James Nye PUBLISHED, 1 May 2013

A Wisconsin courtroom erupted in gasps on Wednesday when a 76-year-old woman arrived at her sentencing hearing expecting to get 45 days in jail for a crime committed 56-years-ago - but was instead handed a maximum 10 years in prison

Ruby C. Klokow had already entered a no contest plea in February to the second-degree murder charge of her six-month-old daughter in 1957, however, a deal between the prosecution and defense led her to believe she would spend less than a month behind bars.

Blinking rapidly as Judge Angela Sutkiewicz passed sentence, the Sheboygan County judge told her that abiding by the plea agreement would have been an affront to justice.


Ruby Klokow, behind glass, reacts to being sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday May 1, 2013, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, for the 1957 death of her six-month-old daughter

'What happened to Jeaneen Klokow was no accident. It was caused by the defendant's reckless actions,' said Judge Angela Sutkiewicz.
Klokow had pleaded no contest in February to a charge of second-degree murder stemming from the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter. At the time, Jeaneen's death was ruled an accident but the case was reopened in 2008 after Klokow's son came forward with allegations of horrific child abuse.

Under questioning by investigators, Klokow acknowledged throwing Jeaneen roughly on the couch, causing her to bounce to the floor.


The grandmother (above) entered a no-contest plea to the charges of murdering her daughter Jeaneen (below) on the understanding that she would receive a shorter sentence.



When the sentence was handed down an audible gasp filled the courtroom. Klokow, who had been occasionally dabbing her eyes and nose with a wadded-up tissue, closed her eyes and then blinked rapidly several times.

Defense attorney Kirk Obear told reporters afterward he was surprised by the sentence.

'If we could do it all over again, we'd have a trial and we'd win,' Obear said.

A number of Klokow's relatives tried to persuade the judge that Klokow already had been punished enough through decades of knowing what happened to her baby.


Ruby Klokow, right behind glass, reacts as her sister, Linda Kimpell, tries to hold her hands through the glass

He promised to initiate an appeal Thursday morning, in part on the basis of the sentencing process.

He noted that the pre-sentencing report raised allegations that Klokow also physically and emotionally abused her other children decades ago, even though the statute of limitations on those abuse claims would have run out.

He said those allegations shouldn't have been relevant for the purpose of sentencing.

Klokow likely will be granted parole when she becomes eligible in 2 1/2 years, district attorney Joe DeCecco said

The case presented a number of quandaries for prosecutors. Klokow would have had to be tried for second-degree murder, a now-outdated charge, under the standards in play at the time of the 1957 crime.

The obligations would include proving the defendant had a 'depraved mind,' a term so vague it was impossible to predict how jurors would interpret it in 2013.

DeCecco noted other reasons why the case would be difficult to prosecute. Key witnesses had died, memories had faded and jurors were likely to see Klokow as a sympathetic maternal or grandmotherly figure.

So he worked out a plea agreement calling for a lenient sentence, knowing the judge would probably overrule him with a much tougher punishment.

He and Obear each recommended a sentence of 45 days in jail and 10 years of probation. But a judge is not bound by plea agreements, and Sutkiewicz did override this one.


Ruby Klokow, (right), is taken into custody after being sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for the 1957 death of her six-month-old daughter

'Anything but incarceration would diminish the seriousness of the offense,' Sutkiewicz said.

Klokow, who sat in a pink turtleneck sweater and black slacks, wept when the sentence was handed down. Later, she stood at the clear plastic partition separating her from her supporters, their hands pressed against opposite sides of the window as if to touch one last time.

Eventually Klokow was led weeping from the courtroom. Supporters who reached out to touch her were nudged away by deputies.

Klokow's case was delayed several times after she was charged in 2011. Her mental-health status was in question but a judge ultimately decided she was competent to assist in her defense.

An initial autopsy found that Jeaneen suffered two brain hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises. However the death was ruled accidental.

The baby's death haunted Jeaneen's older brother, James Klokow Jr., now 57. He says he grew up traumatized because his mother always told him he was to blame for his baby sister's death because the girl fell while Ruby Klokow was distracted by his misbehavior.


A Wisconsin woman accused of killing her baby more than 50 years ago showed up at her sentencing hearing Wednesday expecting to be sentenced to 45 days in jail as part of a plea agreement forged between lawyers.

ames Klokow eventually told police in 2008 of abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother. He told investigators she often beat and choked him and kicked him with steel-toed boots.

He said his mother broke his arm and nose, and described how she covered the head of his mentally challenged younger brother, Bruce, and struck the wailing boy's toes one by one with a hammer.

Obear said those events either never happened or that Klokow's now-deceased husband was the actual abuser.

Before his mother's sentencing, James Klokow read a tearful statement to the judge

'My mother killed my baby sister,' he said, his voice cracking. 'She did not cherish her, she did not love her, she did not protect her. ... I feel my mother should get 20 years in prison.'

In addition to Jeaneen, James and Bruce, Klokow had a fourth child, Scott, who died as a baby. His body was disinterred along with Jeaneen's as police investigated but his death couldn't be considered suspicious.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318073/Moment-evil-monster-grandma-Ruby-C-Klokow-76-sentence-killing-6-month-old-baby-56-years-ago.html

I added this because of the pictures. Such a cute little baby. She would have been just a few years older than me if she had lived. Probably with grand or greatgrand kids. Sad how some people treat little babies. William

willcarney wrote:It's good little Jeaneen got justice. Even if it was over 50 years ago it's still a crime. That little girl could be a grandmother now but never had the chance. Sometimes justice is a little slow but at least in this case there is some. William

Very slow. Her son turned her in 50 years later. She was never charged with the second baby she murdered and wasn't charged for leaving a third baby brain damaged. I'm sure all of the survivors have physical, mental and emotional scars from this evil bitch.

The prosecutor wanted to let her get by with it all. Thank God the judge knew she deserved to go to prison. I hope they don't let her out early. She should rot in there.

Some justice is right. Very little.