A Michigan couple was arrested for the death of their 2-year-old son after he was found dead in a “makeshift cage,” authorities said.
Matthew James Luke and Jamie Lynn Starr, both of Wayne, were charged Saturday with second-degree murder in the death of little Devin Luke Bisesi, who was found lifeless and cold to the touch in the couple’s apartment by emergency responders on March 18, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors allege the couple caused the boy’s death by keeping him inside a playpen with a gate on top, forming a “makeshift cage” that caused him to suffocate.
The boy, according to a Child Protective Services report obtained by WDIV, had been placed inside the playpen about 16 hours prior to his discovery. A toy chest had also been placed atop the playpen, causing the boy’s neck to become stuck between the playpen and the toy chest, leading him to suffocate, according to the report.
Luke and Starr, both 34, later removed the boy’s body from the contraption and cleaned their apartment before calling police, WXYZ reports.
Luke was the boy’s father and Starr was the boy’s stepmother, prosecutors said. The couple was ordered held without bond ahead of a probable cause conference on Oct. 2. It was unclear if they had hired an attorney.
The boy’s biological mother, Jessica Bisesi, said she had “mixed emotions” following her son’s death.
“My honest reaction is relieved that justice is coming, but also very mixed emotions for my ex-husband,” Bisesi told WDIV. “He is my child’s dad and I know that he did love Devin.”
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