Neighbors described Mitchelle Blair as a caring mother who looked after her four kids. Her Facebook page depicted a mom who was very interested in her children’s welfare. She and her children lived in a government-subsidized housing project in Detroit, Michigan.
In 2015, an eviction team went to her home in the Martin Luther King projects to evict her for unpaid rent. As no one was home at the time, the eviction team forced the door open and found an unkempt house with food scraps and clothing strewn all over the floor. They made a quick clean up and readied to move the furniture out of the house. They found a freezer chest and decided to remove its contents. When they opened the chest, they pulled out two bodies, one of a 9-year-old boy and another of a 12-year-old girl. They immediately called the police.
The police came and launched an investigation. They identified the two bodies as a 12-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. After an autopsy, it was determined that the children were beaten to death. The bodies had been in the freezer for over a year. After speaking with neighbors, it came out that Mitchelle told neighbors that those two children were either living by an aunt or did not like coming outside. Further, Mitchelle pulled her kids out of school and had been home-schooling her kids since 2012.
After a competency evaluation, the court saw Mitchelle as fit to stand trial. She entered a guilty plea and stated that she understood that she would likely serve life in prison. At her sentencing, Mitchelle provided details of what happened. Was it vigilante justice?
Mitchelle related that her now-deceased daughter Stoni and son Stephen horribly abused her younger 6-year-old son Matthew because Matthew was “cute.” She described how those two would regularly gang rape Matthew while Matthew was in his bed. Stephen would regularly urinate on Matthew’s bed in the morning. Initially, Mitchelle believed that Matthew had serious bed wetting issues; when Matthew finally spoke up, Mitchelle understood what was going on.
Due to the horrendous abuse, Matthew started developing serious developmental issues. Mitchelle, a survivor of severe child sexual abuse herself, told her children on numerous occasions that if they suffered abuse, they should speak up. When Mitchelle heard about Matthew’s abuse, she reacted strongly and swiftly.
Mitchelle related that she told Stoni to get in the bath. Mitchelle then proceeded to pour scalding-hot water on Stoni, the whole time telling her that this was punishment for abusing Matthew. Mitchelle then whipped Stoni, causing her to bleed horribly. She then put a bag over Stoni’s head and punched Stoni numerous times. Shortly after, Stoni died. Nine months later, Stephen faced similar treatment. He also died. Mitchelle put their bodies in the freezer.
Mitchelle is currently serving a life sentence in Michigan. The court ordered that she lose parental rights to her remaining two children. Assuming that Mitchelle’s story is true, some may argue that justice was served. Regardless, US law views vigilante justice as crime.
Accused of a crime? Contact the criminal defense firm of Christopher Abel.
(image courtesy of Axel Dadure)
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