MANITOWOC – One year ago, on Sept. 13, 2024, Two Rivers Police Department confirmed it had found the remains of 3-year-old Elijah Vue, the boy from Wisconsin Dells who had been missing in Manitowoc County for more than six months.
One month later, Katrina B. Baur, Elijah’s mother, and Jesse Vang were formally charged with causing Elijah’s death and hiding his body in a wooded area just outside the city of Two Rivers.
Here’s a look at how their cases have progressed in the past year.
Elijah Vue’s remains were found on private property more than 6 months after being reported missing
Sept. 7, two people reported finding bones in a wooded area on private property about 3 miles from Vang’s residence, where Elijah was reportedly last seen.
A week later, Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert confirmed testing showed the remains belonged to Elijah.
According to the complaint, forensic testing also revealed evidence of trauma to the head that was partially healed and had happened at least several weeks before Elijah died.
The Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Elijah’s cause of death was “homicide by unspecified means,” the complaint said.
Katrina Baur and Jesse Vang plead not guilty to all charges
After Elijah’s remains were found, new felony charges were filed for both Baur, Elijah’s 32-year-old mother, and Vang, a 40-year-old Two Rivers man who was in a relationship with Baur.
Vang plead not guilty to charges of causing the boy’s death through abuse and hiding the body during an arraignment Nov. 18, 2024.
Physical abuse of a child-causing death is a Class A felony charge with a minimum punishment of life in prison.
His next court date is Sept. 26 for a status conference. He is currently in custody at the Manitowoc County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. The Wisconsin court system requires people to pay the full cash bail to be released from custody.
Baur also plead not guilty to charges of chronic neglect of a child-consequence is death, neglecting a child and obstructing an officer during her arraignment Oct. 30, 2024.
Chronic neglect of a child-consequence is death is a Class B felony charge and holds a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
Baur also has a status conference scheduled for Sept. 26 and is also currently in custody at the county jail on a $400,000 cash bond.
Jesse Vang and Katrina Baur were suspected of child neglect after Elijah Vue was reported missing
Vang reported Elijah missing Feb. 20, 2024, and officers from the Two Rivers Police Department responded to his apartment on Mishicot Road by 10:59 a.m.
According to the criminal complaint, officers interviewed Vang a few hours later with Baur, Elijah’s mother, on speaker phone as she drove from Wisconsin Dells, where she lives, to Two Rivers.
Vang told police Elijah had been staying with him so he could be a male role model for the child.
When asked about what behavior issues Elijah had, Vang said Elijah had worn his sister’s dresses and walked around on “tippy toes.” Baur interjected and told police Elijah was also aggressive with his sister and would steal things from the store, the complaint said.
They also asked Baur if there was any place she thought Elijah would go. She said the Dollar General store or the “white house I used to live at off of VV.” She also told police she worried about Elijah getting lost in the woods or going to the nearby river.
In a separate interview with Baur, she told police Elijah regularly threatens to run away and that she has special child locks because he has gotten out before, the complaint said.
Vang was arrested shortly after talking with police and was charged with chronic neglect of a child.
Baur was also arrested and charged with chronic neglect of a child, two counts of obstructing an officer and neglecting a child.
Elijah’s remains were found in September 2024 near the white house Katrina referenced in her interview with police.
Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Elijah Vue court cases continue a year after remains of the 3-year-old were recovered
Reporting by Alisa M. Schafer, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
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