BLAKE PETERS - 22 Months (2007)/ Charged: Babysitter; Renee Kuehl (deceased - suicide) - Juneau (NW of Milwaukee) WI

Juneau WI ---- The death of a toddler at a babysitter's
Dodge County home in 2007 was initially ruled an accident.

Now prosecutors have filed charges of first-degree reckless
homicide and physical abuse of a child against the babysitter,
47-year-old Renee Kuehl of Hustisford.

Injuries to another child who was in Kuehl's care last year
caused investigators to take another look at the 2007 death. A
2-year-old girl suffered two skull fractures and bleeding of the
brain. Kuehl says the girl fell on the cement driveway.

                       The death of the 22-month-old boy in 2007
was initially ruled to be accidental due to a fall down a flight of stairs.

When a 2-year-old girl appeared in the emergency
room of Hartford Memorial Hospital with multiple skull fractures in
November, police suspected her babysitter had abused her.

The ensuing investigation spiraled into an allegation that
47-year-old Renee S. Kuehl of Hustisford was responsible for the
death of a 22-month-old boy who was under her care in 2007. That
death was originally ruled an accidental fall down a flight of
stairs.

Charges of first degree reckless homicide and physical abuse of
a child were filed against Kuehl on Tuesday in Dodge County Circuit
Court in the death of the 22-month-old boy. Dodge County Jail
officials said Wednesday that Kuehl had been booked into the
jail.

Kuehl is not a licensed daycare provider, but she told police in
November she frequently babysat for close family and friends,
according to a criminal complaint.

Kuehl was babysitting for a 2-year-old girl Nov. 2, 2009, when
the toddler suffered injuries that resulted in two skull fractures
and bleeding of the brain, the complaint said.

Kuehl told Dodge County Sheriff's Det. Vicki Brugger and the
child's mother that the toddler was spinning like a "princess or
ballerina" when she fell and hit her head on the cement driveway of
her apartment at 262 S. Maple St., Hustisford.

Dr. Lynn Sheets, medical director of the Child Protection Center
of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, stated in the complaint that
the toddler's injuries were inconsistent with Kuehl's story. "She
has been severely physically abused," Sheets stated.

While investigating the alleged abuse, police said they learned
that a 22-month-old boy had died in November 2007 while Kuehl
babysat him at a home in Juneau.

The complaint says Kuehl told police she forgot to close a
basement door. The boy, she said, fell down the stairs and died
despite efforts to revive him while on the phone with a 911
dispatcher.

Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner Dr. P. Douglas Kelly
originally ruled the death an accident.

In December 2009, investigators asked Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams, a
forensic pathologist with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
to review the case.

Rorke-Adams stated in the complaint she found that "(the boy)
was the victim of extensive, severe, inflicted trauma which caused
his death; hence the manner of death is homicide."

When a 2-year-old girl appeared in the emergency room
of Hartford Memorial Hospital with multiple skull fractures in
November, police suspected her babysitter had abused her.

The ensuing investigation soon spiraled into a more onerous
allegation that 47-year-old Renee S. Kuehl of Hustisford was
responsible for the reckless homicide of a 22-month-old boy who
died while under her care two years earlier in what was initially
ruled an accidental fall down a flight of basement stairs.

Charges of first degree reckless homicide and physical abuse of
a child were filed against Kuehl Tuesday in Dodge County Circuit
Court. Dodge County Jail officials confirmed Wednesday evening
Kuehl had been booked into the jail.

Kuehl is not a licensed daycare provider. She told police in
November she frequently babysat for close family and friends for
rates as low as $3 an hour, according to a criminal complaint.

Kuehl was babysitting for a 2-year-old girl Nov. 2, 2009, when
the toddler suffered injuries that resulted in two skull fractures
and bleeding of the brain.

The complaint says Kuehl told Dodge County Sheriff’s Det. Vicki
Brugger and the child’s mother that the toddler was spinning like a
“princess or ballerina” when she fell and hit her head on the
cement driveway of her apartment at 262 S. Maple St.,
Hustisford.

The toddler’s mother reportedly took her to the hospital hours
later because the girl was acting lethargic.

A 5-year-old boy who was also under Kuehl’s care when the
toddler was injured recalled a different story. The boy told police
the girl was in the basement when she was injured, according to the
complaint, and he thought she was dead when Kuehl carried her into
the living room and laid her on the couch.

Dr. Lynn Sheets, medical director of the Child Protection Center
of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, stated in the complaint that
the toddler’s injuries were inconsistent with Kuehl’s story.



“She has been severely physically abused,” Sheets stated.

The complaint also describes other injuries Sheets called “very
suspicious”— an “impact injury” to the forehead and markings on the
girl’s legs that appeared to have a pattern.

While investigating the alleged abuse police reportedly learned
that a 22-month-old boy had died in November 2007 while Kuehl
babysat him at his home in Juneau.

The complaint says Kuehl told police she went to the bathroom
and forgot to close a basement door. The boy, she said, fell down
the stairs and died despite efforts to revive him while on the
phone with a 911 dispatcher.

Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner Dr. P. Douglas Kelly found
in November 2007 the boy had multiple skull fractures, among other
injuries. He ruled the specific causes of death to be “multiple
traumatic injuries,” including blunt force trauma to the head,
abdomen and chest.

After interviewing Kuehl and the child’s parents, Dodge County
Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel ruled in December 2007 the cause of
death was an accident, writing “fall down stairs” on the death
certificate, according to the complaint.

In December 2009 investigators asked Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams, a
forensic pathologist with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
to review the case.

Rorke-Adams stated in the complaint she found that “(the boy)
was the victim of extensive, severe, inflicted trauma which caused
his death; hence the manner of death is homicide.”

Investigators then asked Kelly in December 2009 to re-review the
case.

“It is my opinion to a reasonable degree of certainty that the
constellation of injuries found to (the victim’s) body are
non-accidental in nature, and it would be appropriate to certify
the manner of death in this case as a homicide,” Kelly stated in
the criminal complaint.

Dr. Michael Stier, a forensic pathologist with UW- Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health, reviewed the case and
rendered an opinion in line with that of Rorke-Adams and Kelly.

“This constellation of severe and life-threatening injuries is
completely inconsistent with the reported history of being
sustained from a fall down a short flight of domestic stairs,”
Stier stated in the complaint. “(The victim) clearly passed away
from multiple blunt-force traumatic injuries.”

A first degree intentional homicide charge carries a maximum
sentence of 60 years in prison. A child abuse charge carries a
maximum 10-year prison sentence.

A Dodge County woman is accused of killing one toddler and injuring
another while babysitting them.
Renee Kuehl, 47, made her first appearance in court on charges of
First Degree Reckless Homicide and Physical Abuse of A Child.


Her nephew, Blake, died while she was caring for him in 2007.
According to a criminal complaint, at the time, Kuehl claimed the boy
fell down the stairs. The Medical Examiner listed his cause of death as accidental.
Then, in November 2009, Kuehl was babysitting a girl named Grace.
Grace suffered severe head injuries. Again, Kuehl claimed it was an
accident but medical professionals found signs of severe physical abuse.
Kuehl is being held in the Dodge County Jail.

The mother of a toddler broke into tears in court as a medical expert
described the injuries her daughter allegedly suffered at the hands of
her baby sitter.
Following nearly two hours of testimony Thursday afternoon, Judge
Brian Pfitzinger found probable cause against Renee Kuehl during a
preliminary hearing in Dodge County Circuit Court.Kuehl, 47, of Hustisford, is charged in the death of a
22-month-old Juneau boy and causing substantial injuries to a
2-year-old girl.An
arraignment hearing has been set for June 23.If convicted as charged, Kuehl faces up to 70 years
in prison.The
death of the Juneau boy, Blake Peters — Kuehl's nephew — was initially
attributed to a fall down the stairs in 2007 and ruled accidental.However, the injuries
to the girl, also in Kuehl's care at the time, caused investigators to
take another look at the boy's death.During testimony, defense attorney Gerald Boyle of
Milwaukee questioned both Fond du Lac County Chief Medical Examiner and
forensic pathologist Dr. Douglas Kelley and Dr. Lynn Sheets, medical
director at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee on the separate incidents.

Fall in driveway
Kuehl told the mother of the 2-year-old girl that the child had been twirling
herself around in the driveway of Kuehl's Hustisford home and must have
fallen, hitting her head on the cement. Later that evening, the woman
noticed her daughter had become lethargic and had vomited in her bed,
according to the criminal complaint.Boyle questioned Sheets on whether or not the girl's
injuries could have happened prior to Kuehl baby-sitting the child at
her Hustisford home on Nov. 2."Had the injuries happened the day before, there would
not have been a delayed presentation of symptoms on Nov. 2," Sheets
said. "The clinical history of the case shows that she didn't start
showing symptoms until later on in the day, causing her mother to take
her to the hospital."Sheets
also testified that a fall from the child's height would not have
caused the full scope and severity of injuries suffered by the child,
including two skull fractures and bleeding on the brain.
"There was a great deal of trauma," Sheets said.
After examining the child, Sheets wrote that the girl had been
"severely, physically abused."

Fall down stairs
At the time Kuehl was caring for her nephew at his Juneau home, Kuehl said that the boy had accidentally
fallen down a flight of basement stairs, according to the criminal
complaint.The death had initially been determined by Dodge County Medical Examiner PJ
Schoebel to be accidental.The 19-page autopsy report, written by Kelley in
November 2007, indicated that Blake Peters had suffered blunt force
trauma to the head, abdomen, chest and extremities.Authorities subsequently forwarded additional medical
information collected earlier this year to Kelley, who re-examined the
case and opined that the child's injuries were "non-accidental in
nature" and said the manner of death could be appropriately certified as
a homicide, according to the criminal complaint.Boyle said there was no record in 2007 of Kelley
voicing his concerns to Schoebel about foul play in the child's death."You have a wealth of
experience and yet, as far as we know, the autopsy didn't raise any
alarms that this looked like a homicide to you back then," said Boyle,
pointing out that Kelley didn't request further investigation or
reports."You have to remember that this was not in my jurisdiction, that I was just a
consultant on the case asked to determine the cause of death," Kelley
said. "I don't render the manner of death unless I have all the
information."Kelley said that additional information provided to him following the initial
autopsy, including the police investigation and pictures of the stairs,
solidified his opinion."What stands out above all is the amount of injury and an abdominal injury
that can't be explained by a simple fall down the stairs," Kelley said.
"The child's small intestine was torn in two and abdominal injuries such
as this are nearly unheard of in falls down the stairs."

The toddler's skull was fractured. His arm was broken.
His upper lip was torn. Bruises covered his body and he had
internal injuries.

Dr. P. Douglas Kelley testified Thursday that a 22-month-old
toddler did not sustain all these injuries in an accidental fall
down stairs, as the boy's babysitter Renee Kuehl claimed following
his death in November 2007.

Dodge County Judge Brian Pfitzinger found cause to believe that
assertion and ordered Kuehl, 47, of Hustisford to stand trial on a
charge of first degree reckless homicide. Kuehl will also stand
trial on another count of child abuse for allegedly fracturing a
2-year-old girl's skull while babysitting her last fall.

Kelley, chief Fond Du Lac County medical examiner, told Dodge
County District Attorney Bill Bedker that a child could certainly
break an arm, or fracture a skull, falling down a flight of
basement stairs. But tearing a bowel in two in such a fall is
"unheard of."

A punch, kick, or any kind of blunt impact to the abdomen could
cause an intestinal tear, Kelley said, but falling wouldn't provide
enough blunt force.

Also concerning, Kelley said, was the number of injuries the boy
sustained.

"The issue is not whether some of these injuries could be caused
by falls," Kelley said. "But there's not just one of them, they're
all over his body."

Following an autopsy in 2007 Kelley ruled the cause of death to
be multiple traumatic injuries. Kuehl's attorney Gerald Boyle asked
Kelley why, if he was concerned about the boy's injuries, Kelley
didn't tip-off police at the time.

Kelley said it was merely his duty to provide a cause of death.
The manner of death, he said, was determined by Dodge County
Medical Examiner P.J. Schoebel.

"If I have concerns I will discuss it with the person who has
hired me to render my opinion," Kelley said.

Schoebel was present during the autopsy. Kelley said he doesn't
recall if he told Schoebel that the manner of death could be
homicide.

"I think I would have," Kelley said. "This is not my
jurisdiction. I'm a consultant on the case asked to determine a
cause of death."

Schoebel interviewed the child's parents and Kuehl before ruling
the death an accident in December 2007. Schoebel wrote "fall down
stairs" on the death certificate, according to the criminal
complaint.

It wasn't until a 2-year-old girl suffered a skull fracture
while under Kuehl's care two years later that the reckless homicide
investigation began. Dodge County Sheriff's Det. Bob Neumann asked
Kelley to review the boy's death last December.

"It is my opinion to a reasonable degree of certainty that the
constellation of injuries found to (the victim's) body are
non-accidental in nature, and it would be appropriate to certify
the manner of death in this case as a homicide," Kelly stated in a
report.

Two other doctors who evaluated the case also ruled the boy's
death was a homicide. There is no indication in court documents if
Schoebel changed his initial opinion or not. He declined to comment
when contacted by the Daily Citizen last month because the case is
still open.

On Thursday Bedker also called to the stand Dr. Lynn Sheets, who
examined the 2-year-old girl in October.

Kuehl said in the complaint that the girl was injured when she
fell on a cement driveway.

Sheets testified that the girl's injuries were inconsistent with
a fall from a short distance.

She said the injuries are consistent with physical child
abuse.

Kuehl will return to Dodge County Circuit Court June 23 to enter
a plea to both felony charges. She remains held in Dodge County
Jail on $80,000 cash bond. A reckless homicide charge carries a
maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. A child abuse charge
carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

Prosecutors will have to convince a jury that Renee S.
Kuehl caused the reckless homicide of a toddler while babysitting
more than two years ago, and that she abused another child while
babysitting last November.

Kuehl, 47, of Hustisford, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges
of reckless homicide and child abuse. She also requested a jury
trial.

When a little girl suffered a skull fracture, bleeding and swelling
of the brain while Kuehl babysat her last November, Dr. Lynn Sheets
suspected the child had been physically abused.

The ensuing investigation spiraled into a homicide charge when
Dodge County Sheriff's detectives took a fresh look at a toddler
who died while under Kuehl's care in November 2007.

Dodge County Medical Examiner PJ Schoebel ruled the manner of the
child's death an accidental fall down stairs, which is what Kuehl
told investigators had happened. Since, however, three doctors have
emerged saying the boy's injuries are more consistent with
homicide.

Several possible angles emerged for defense attorney Gerald Boyle
during a hearing last week.

When Dr. Sheets testified that the little girl could not have
suffered such a serious head injury from a short-distance fall,
Boyle questioned how Sheets could tell the injuries happened while
she under Kuehl's care - not before or after her parents dropped
her off.

Sheets said the child's behavior was the best indicator. A little
girl with a fractured skull and a bleeding brain would not act like
a happy-go-lucky child. However, she said, there is no way to tell
from the bruising or skull fracture exactly when the injuries
occurred.

When Kelley took the stand, he rattled off a long list of injuries
he discovered while examining the toddler in November 2007: A
fractured skull, internal injuries, his arm was broken, his upper
lip torn.

Kelley testified that it would be highly unlikely for all those
injuries to occur in one fall down stairs. He also said an
intestine being torn in two in such an accident is "unheard
of."

Boyle asked Kelley why he didn't alert investigators after the
autopsy if he suspected the manner of death could be
homicide.

Kelley said he was contracted to determine a cause of death -
multiple traumatic injuries - and it was up to Schoebel to
determine the manner of death after a thorough investigation.

Schoebel was present during the autopsy. Kelley said he doesn't
recall if he told Schoebel that the manner of death could be
homicide.

"I think I would have," Kelley said. "This is not my jurisdiction.
I'm a consultant on the case asked to determine a cause of
death."

Kuehl has been held in Dodge County Jail on $80,000 cash bail since
her initial court appearance May 27. Boyle said he will petition
the court to modify bail.

A scheduling hearing will be held in August.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011
Top Stories, January 6th
Motions Filed In Kuehl Murder Case

1/6/11 - Lawyers for a Hustisford babysitter accused of injuring one child and killing another are seeking to have the cases tried separately. Renee Kuehl appeared in a Dodge County courtroom Wednesday. Kuehl is accused of inflicting fatal trauma on a 22-month-old boy she was babysitting in November of 2007. The incident was reviewed after another child was allegedly injured while in her care two years later. The 48-year-old says the child died from a fall down the stairs. The medical examiner testified at the preliminary hearing that the child sustained a fractured skull and broken arm along with abdominal injuries and a torn bowel consistent with a punch or a kick. In the most recent case, Kuehl says she was outside babysitting a 2-year-old girl who was twirling and fell on concrete. She sustained two skull fractures, along with a golf ball sized impact wound on her forehead and bruising under her right eye. A doctor with Children’s Hospital testified that the contusions came from “multiple different angles” and it didn’t make sense how one fall could cause all of the injuries, unless the girl had fallen down the stairs. In filing the motion, Kuehl’s attorney Gerald Boyle said that his client cannot have a fair trial if the charges are combined. Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg opposed the motion. Both sides were each given three weeks to file their respective written arguments after which time Judge Steven Bauer will render a decision. Kuehl faces up to 70 years in prison, if convicted.

http://wxroradio.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-stories-january-6th.html

Date	Time	Location	Description	Type 2	Court Official
09-01-2011	08:15 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Telephone scheduling conference	Court	Bauer, Steven G.
01-23-2012	08:30 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Jury trial	Court	Bauer, Steven G.
01-24-2012	09:00 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Jury trial	Court	Bauer, Steven G.
01-25-2012	09:00 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Jury trial	Court	Bauer, Steven G.
01-26-2012	09:00 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Jury trial	Court	Bauer, Steven G.
01-27-2012	09:00 am	Circuit Court Branch 4	Jury trial	Court	Bauer, Steven G.

http://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetails.do;jsessionid=A008546DFD6E60CF2A9A871965F5061D.render6?caseNo=2010CF000138&countyNo=14&cacheId=3694C2B66941E863DDE48DA4BD31B18D&recordCount=13&offset=1&mode=details&submit=View+Case+Details

Woman facing homicide trial dies

January 17, 2012 10:55 pm  
By CITIZEN STAFF

JUNEAU - The defendant in a reckless homicide trial died Monday, a week before her trial was scheduled to begin.

Renee S. Kuehl, 49, was found dead Monday morning, according to the Green Lake County Sheriff's Department. The Green Lake County coroner said an autopsy Tuesday confirmed the cause of death as suicide.

Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg moved to dismiss charges against  Kuehl Tuesday and expressed sympathy to the Kuehl family.

"Renee Kuehl's untimely death means that now the truth about these cases will never be heard," Klomberg said. "We were fully prepared for trial and quite confident of the outcome due to the hours and diligence expended on this case by Detective Robert Neuman and the entire Dodge County Sheriff's Dept."

A jury trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 23 on charges that she caused the reckless homicide of a toddler while babysitting in Hustisfod in November 2007, and that she abused another child while babysitting in November 2009.

Kuehl came under investigation after a child she was babysitting in 2009 suffered a skull fracture, bleeding and swelling of the brain while in her care. The ensuing investigation included detectives taking a fresh look at what was thought to be an accidental death in 2007.

Kuehl had been free on a $22,500 property bond and living with relatives in Green Lake.

http://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/article_def1b7be-418f-11e1-8fae-0019bb2963f4.html