MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman is accused of killing her her 4-year-old son with autism by tying him up with belts and setting him on fire, according to according to WITI.
Amelia Di Stasio, 23, faces a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of her only child, Antonio Di Stasio.
Milwaukee firefighters found the child’s body in a bathtub around 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 28 after responding to a report of “smoke.” His hands were bound behind his back with seven belts and a garbage bag over his head.
The victim’s body had been set on fire, investigators say. Crews also found a bottle of canola cooking oil on the bathroom sink.
A dead pet guinea pig that had been drowned in its cage was also found next to the tub.
According to an autopsy report, there was “significant charring” to the boy’s skin, and the boy sustained thermal injuries “to the majority of his body.”
A neighbor told investigators she heard Antonio scream, “Please mommy stop. I won’t do it again,” before fire officials arrived. A second witness reported seeing a woman jump from the windowsill of the apartment. She said the woman appeared to look “frazzled.”
Di Stasio was arrested later that day.
Investigators found a note with a woman’s name and telephone number on it in her purse. When they called the number, authorities spoke a husband and wife who said they had seen the woman crying.
When they asked her what was wrong, she asked if they knew a pastor. She told them she “did something really bad,” had “never did nothing like that before” and needed to speak with somebody. The man gave her a number.
According to WITI, a search of Di Stasio’s cellphone revealed she had looked up “how to kill a canabal (sic)” that morning, and that she had visited a message board dedicated to an online game billed as a “horror survival game” in which players fight cannibals. The message board “detailed the ways to kill cannibals within the game,” and recommended to “kill it with fire.” It also discussed how, in the game, cannibals “like to bathe in oil.”
If convicted, Di Stasio faces a sentence of life in prison.