He was not suspected by anyone until he saved the life of a kitten several months later.

A teen from Indiana was sentenced to 100-years in prison for the murder of his siblings in two separate incidents. This is a crime that he could have avoided if he hadn't tried to kill a kitten.

Nickalas James Kedrowitz, 17, was only 13 when he killed Desiree McCartney's 23-month old half-sister and Nathaniel Ritz's 11-month-old stepbrother in 2017 in two separate murders that were not suspected at the time.

According to the Indy Star court documents, police were called to a report of an unresponsive child at Osgood's home on May 1, 2017, according to court documents.

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Stephen Ritz, Nathaniel’s father, was engaged to Kedrowitz’s mother. He told authorities that he had asked Nathaniel to look after his half-sister, 13 years old, while he checked on other children in the house.

Kedrowitz held the baby in a towel and told the parents that the child was not feeling well. Christina McCartney, Desiree's mom, attempted CPR until first responders arrived. The baby was taken to the hospital but died five days later.

The cause of death was not determined by an autopsy that was performed the next day.

On July 20, two months later, authorities again responded to calls from parents reporting another child not responding. Nathaniel, 11 months old, was taken to the hospital by doctors who declared that Nathaniel's heart had stopped completely. This occurred about 20-30 minutes before emergency responders arrived.

Christina McCartney later told police that everything was fine. The family had eaten dinner, watched TV and then Kedrowitz asked them to put their baby stepbrother to sleep.

Minutes later, her son returned and informed her that "something was not quite right" and that Nathaniel wasn't acting right. He's not moving."

Nathaniel died shortly after midnight on that same night. An autopsy would again prove inconclusive.

Christina McCartney called Indiana State Police a month and half later to report that her son, 13, had "mutilated" a kitten at his aunt's house. According to court documents, the cat apparently scratched him and then he squeezed it to retaliate.

Kedrowitz was asked by his family if he would go along with them to "see the kitten's brains splash everywhere" after they decided to take the kitten from its misery.

The aunt spoke out when police reached her. She said that the teenager was struggling at school, was often in fights, lied frequently, and was losing his temper. He reminded her of The Hulk, she said.

The Star reported that Kedrowitz was to undergo a psychological assessment. The evaluation was complete and Dr. Linda McIntire, a psychologist, told police that Kedrowitz may be responsible for the deaths of his siblings.

Police interviewed Kedrowitz after he had read her report. According to court records, he stated multiple times about "liberating his siblings from Satanic and Hell."

He did not answer when asked if he was responsible to "free his siblings" or cause their deaths. The detectives asked him if he was responsible for the deaths of his siblings. He said that he had spoken to God about it, but promised God not to tell anyone.

He agreed to share a small portion of their conversation and stated that Desiree, Nathaniel and Nathaniel had both died after a dream about an angel having saved them "from hell" and "from the chains of fire" and how he didn’t want them to go to hell.

He replied, "chores" when asked about hell.

Then he told investigators that he didn’t want to hurt them both, but had to set them free. He had placed a blanket on Nathaniel's and Desiree's heads, respectively.

January 2018 saw the release of amended autopsy reports showing that Nathaniel and Desiree died from asphyxia caused by smothering. Both children were declared homicides.

In September 2019, Kedrowitz, then 15 years old, was charged with two counts each of murder.

Only two of the five doctors who gave evidence on his competency to stand trial said that he was. The judge sided with the minority.

A Ripley County judge sentenced Kedrowitz Wednesday to 100 years imprisonment -- 50 years each for each murder.

Ripley County Prosecutor Richard Hertel stated to AP that this was not a heat of passion. He said there was no killing followed by a second killing. We're talking months, so the following sentence was appropriate and warranted in these circumstances.

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Title: Teen Who Smothered Baby Siblings in Two Separate Incidents Sentenced to 100 Years
Sourced From: toofab.com/2022/02/04/teen-who-smothered-baby-siblings-in-two-separate-incidents-sentenced-to-100-years/
Published Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:23:00 +0000

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