A Wisconsin woman recently convicted of killing her daughter more than 50 years ago is an ‘evil monster’ who deserves to die in prison, said her adult son, who claims he suffered years of horrific abuse at his mother's hands.
Ruby C. Klokow, 76, of Sheboygan, pleaded no contest in February to second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen.
But as part of a plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of 45 days in jail and 10 years' probation, citing her age and medical issues.
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Brother's heartbreak: James Klokow Jr. (left) says he wants his mother, Ruby Klokow (right) sentenced to 20 years for the killing of his toddler sister
Emotional: Mr Klokow wept as he talked about the slaying of his sister, calling their mother an 'evil monster' for harming a defenseless child
Ruby Klokow's son forgives, won't forget, abuse
That's unacceptable, said her son, James Klokow Jr. He wants his mother sentenced to 20 years, certain that she won't live long enough to serve the entire term.
‘Anybody that kills a little child that can't defend themselves is an evil monster and don't deserve to have freedom,’ the 57-year-old told The Associated Press on Monday, a few hours before his mother was originally scheduled to be sentenced.
The sentencing hearing was later delayed to May 1. A message left with her attorney was not immediately returned.
Ruby Klokow initially told investigators Jeaneen had rolled off a couch and bumped her head, and investigators ruled the baby's death an accident. But the case was reopened in 2008, after James Klokow reported stories of abuse.
After a lengthy investigation, Ruby Klokow eventually conceded she may have roughly thrown the baby on the couch, causing her to bounce to the floor.
‘I think she didn't want us to be born,’ James Klokow said.
Ruby Klokow's criminal case has been delayed several times since she was charged in 2011. Her mental health status was in question, but a judge ultimately decided she was competent to assist in her defense.
The baby's death forever haunted James Klokow. He said his mother blamed him, telling him it was his misbehavior that distracted her and led to Jeaneen's death.
He also told police that his mother regularly beat him, and that she had choked him and broke his arm and nose. He also described his mother covering the head of his mentally challenged younger brother and striking the wailing boy's toes one by one with a hammer.
Angel: When 6-month-old Jeaneen Klowkow died in 1957, her mother told police that the baby had fallen off a sofa; an autopsy found the baby had suffered two brain hemorrhages and a partially collapsed lung
‘Before I went to junior high school my mom would grab me by the neck, bounce my head ... off the wall, punched me as hard as she could with her fist in the stomach,’ he said.
‘She would take her fist and hit my across the ears. ... Believe me, I was hurting so bad that when I went to school, all I would do is stare.’
District attorney Joe DeCecco acknowledged that a 45-day sentence was light but said the plea agreement was in the best interest of the state.
He said it would have been difficult to convince a jury that the grandmotherly woman before them was once a very angry young woman who didn't want to be a mother and who lied to police.
Besides Jeaneen and James, Klokow had another child, Scott, who died as a baby. His body was disinterred as police investigated but his death could not be considered suspicious, DeCecco said
Mrs Klokow was charged with second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen, only after her son came forward in 2008 with horrific stories of childhood abuse.
District Attorney De Cecco cited Klokow's advanced age and health as factors in the plea agreement approved by Sheboygan County District Judge Angela Sutkiewicz.
De Cecco said if Klokow had been tried, she might have been acquitted altogether and walked free.
A jury could no longer have convicted her of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter, because of the statute of limitations.
No charges were filed after Jeaneen's death in 1957. Ruby Klokow told the police that the baby had fallen off a sofa while she was tending to a crying James.
An autopsy found that Jeaneen had suffered two brain hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises.
Bargain: Ruby Klokow, left, leaves court with attorney Kirk Obear on Monday following a hearing in which she pleaded no contest to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors
Plea: Klokow's attorney, Kirk Obear, said he thought the case against was unfair. 'There were witnesses that could have been interviewed that have long since died,' he said
At a preliminary hearing five decades later, a forensic pathologist who reviewed documents in the case testified that the severity of the injuries didn't match Klokow's explanation.
According to a criminal complaint, Klokow admitted causing her daughter's death.
Klokow had been free pending trial and will remain free until formal sentencing April 15. After the plea hearing, she told reporters, 'It's not over until it's over.'
Her attorney, Kirk Obear, said he thought the case against Klokow was unfair. 'There were witnesses that could have been interviewed that have long since died,' he said.
Scott Klokow, another of Ruby Klokow's children, was found dead in his crib seven years after Jeaneen died. No charges have been filed in his death.
Obear noted that Jeaneen and Scott were exhumed but that nothing was discovered at odds with the initial accidental death rulings.
DeCecco's announcement last week of a plea agreement came as a relief to James Klokow, now 57. He said he had feared his mother 'turning and questioning (him) on the stand.'
Horror stories: James Klokow came forward in 2008, revealing how his mother regularly beat and choked him, punched him and broke his arm and nose
In an interview with The Associated Press, he said his mother had regularly beaten and choked him.
The case was delayed several times after Klokow was charged in 2011, including for mental tests to see if she was competent to stand trial.
Klokow was arrested at her home in February 2011 following a two-year investigation that uncovered a catalog of abuse suffered by her other children.
In 2009, Klokow's son James went to police with his long-held suspicion that his mother had killed Jeaneen at their home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
He said the family had suffered years of abuse when their mother had been drinking and believed his sister's death wasn't accidental.
Police reviewed their decades-old reports and searched for hospital and social service records as part of their investigation.
Infant grave: Klokow told detectives she grabbed the 6-month-old child and threw her toward the couch. The baby, she said, let out a 'different kind of cry' and her eyes looked strange, according to a criminal complaint
The body of the newborn was also exhumed and a new examination ordered. Another of her children, Scott, who died in 1964, was also exhumed and examined for abuse.
Two pathologists who reviewed the autopsy results agreed that Klokow's claim of a 16-inch fall from a sofa could hardly have caused the girl's injuries.
After Klokow was interviewed by detectives she admitted she had been 'mean' to her daughter and her son Scott.
According to a criminal complaint Klokow admitted she was frustrated that both Jeaneen and James were crying at the same time.
She told detectives she grabbed Jeaneen from her stroller and threw her toward the couch. The baby, she said, let out a 'different kind of cry' and her eyes looked strange, according to the complaint.
Klokow told police she was struggling to cope with four young children.
She told detectives she wished she had never had children and acknowledged being abusive towards them.
The criminal complaint detailed a long list of other abuse against the children, including allegations that she broke James's arm and nose in separate incidents, and injured his knees by kicking him with steel-toed boots on multiple occasions.
District Attorney Joe De Cecco cited Klokow's advanced age and health as factors in the agreement reached at Sheboygan County Circuit Court (pictured)
The complaint also says she made her son Bruce stand in a corner with a paper bag on his head at the age of five or six while she hit each of his toes with a hammer.
Prosecutor Joe DeCecco said in 2011: 'We have to recognise it was something that happened in 1957 and it wasn't intentional, although it was reckless.
'She had a lot of kids at a relatively young age, she wasn't happy in her marriage, there was a lot of drinking going on there and she had a temper.'
Ruby C. Klokow, 76, of Sheboygan, pleaded no contest in February to second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen.
But as part of a plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of 45 days in jail and 10 years' probation, citing her age and medical issues.
Scroll down to watch interview
Brother's heartbreak: James Klokow Jr. (left) says he wants his mother, Ruby Klokow (right) sentenced to 20 years for the killing of his toddler sister
Emotional: Mr Klokow wept as he talked about the slaying of his sister, calling their mother an 'evil monster' for harming a defenseless child
Ruby Klokow's son forgives, won't forget, abuse
That's unacceptable, said her son, James Klokow Jr. He wants his mother sentenced to 20 years, certain that she won't live long enough to serve the entire term.
‘Anybody that kills a little child that can't defend themselves is an evil monster and don't deserve to have freedom,’ the 57-year-old told The Associated Press on Monday, a few hours before his mother was originally scheduled to be sentenced.
The sentencing hearing was later delayed to May 1. A message left with her attorney was not immediately returned.
Ruby Klokow initially told investigators Jeaneen had rolled off a couch and bumped her head, and investigators ruled the baby's death an accident. But the case was reopened in 2008, after James Klokow reported stories of abuse.
After a lengthy investigation, Ruby Klokow eventually conceded she may have roughly thrown the baby on the couch, causing her to bounce to the floor.
‘I think she didn't want us to be born,’ James Klokow said.
Ruby Klokow's criminal case has been delayed several times since she was charged in 2011. Her mental health status was in question, but a judge ultimately decided she was competent to assist in her defense.
The baby's death forever haunted James Klokow. He said his mother blamed him, telling him it was his misbehavior that distracted her and led to Jeaneen's death.
He also told police that his mother regularly beat him, and that she had choked him and broke his arm and nose. He also described his mother covering the head of his mentally challenged younger brother and striking the wailing boy's toes one by one with a hammer.
Angel: When 6-month-old Jeaneen Klowkow died in 1957, her mother told police that the baby had fallen off a sofa; an autopsy found the baby had suffered two brain hemorrhages and a partially collapsed lung
‘Before I went to junior high school my mom would grab me by the neck, bounce my head ... off the wall, punched me as hard as she could with her fist in the stomach,’ he said.
‘She would take her fist and hit my across the ears. ... Believe me, I was hurting so bad that when I went to school, all I would do is stare.’
District attorney Joe DeCecco acknowledged that a 45-day sentence was light but said the plea agreement was in the best interest of the state.
He said it would have been difficult to convince a jury that the grandmotherly woman before them was once a very angry young woman who didn't want to be a mother and who lied to police.
Besides Jeaneen and James, Klokow had another child, Scott, who died as a baby. His body was disinterred as police investigated but his death could not be considered suspicious, DeCecco said
Mrs Klokow was charged with second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen, only after her son came forward in 2008 with horrific stories of childhood abuse.
District Attorney De Cecco cited Klokow's advanced age and health as factors in the plea agreement approved by Sheboygan County District Judge Angela Sutkiewicz.
De Cecco said if Klokow had been tried, she might have been acquitted altogether and walked free.
A jury could no longer have convicted her of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter, because of the statute of limitations.
No charges were filed after Jeaneen's death in 1957. Ruby Klokow told the police that the baby had fallen off a sofa while she was tending to a crying James.
An autopsy found that Jeaneen had suffered two brain hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises.
Bargain: Ruby Klokow, left, leaves court with attorney Kirk Obear on Monday following a hearing in which she pleaded no contest to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors
Plea: Klokow's attorney, Kirk Obear, said he thought the case against was unfair. 'There were witnesses that could have been interviewed that have long since died,' he said
At a preliminary hearing five decades later, a forensic pathologist who reviewed documents in the case testified that the severity of the injuries didn't match Klokow's explanation.
According to a criminal complaint, Klokow admitted causing her daughter's death.
Klokow had been free pending trial and will remain free until formal sentencing April 15. After the plea hearing, she told reporters, 'It's not over until it's over.'
Her attorney, Kirk Obear, said he thought the case against Klokow was unfair. 'There were witnesses that could have been interviewed that have long since died,' he said.
Scott Klokow, another of Ruby Klokow's children, was found dead in his crib seven years after Jeaneen died. No charges have been filed in his death.
Obear noted that Jeaneen and Scott were exhumed but that nothing was discovered at odds with the initial accidental death rulings.
DeCecco's announcement last week of a plea agreement came as a relief to James Klokow, now 57. He said he had feared his mother 'turning and questioning (him) on the stand.'
Horror stories: James Klokow came forward in 2008, revealing how his mother regularly beat and choked him, punched him and broke his arm and nose
In an interview with The Associated Press, he said his mother had regularly beaten and choked him.
The case was delayed several times after Klokow was charged in 2011, including for mental tests to see if she was competent to stand trial.
Klokow was arrested at her home in February 2011 following a two-year investigation that uncovered a catalog of abuse suffered by her other children.
In 2009, Klokow's son James went to police with his long-held suspicion that his mother had killed Jeaneen at their home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
He said the family had suffered years of abuse when their mother had been drinking and believed his sister's death wasn't accidental.
Police reviewed their decades-old reports and searched for hospital and social service records as part of their investigation.
Infant grave: Klokow told detectives she grabbed the 6-month-old child and threw her toward the couch. The baby, she said, let out a 'different kind of cry' and her eyes looked strange, according to a criminal complaint
The body of the newborn was also exhumed and a new examination ordered. Another of her children, Scott, who died in 1964, was also exhumed and examined for abuse.
Two pathologists who reviewed the autopsy results agreed that Klokow's claim of a 16-inch fall from a sofa could hardly have caused the girl's injuries.
After Klokow was interviewed by detectives she admitted she had been 'mean' to her daughter and her son Scott.
According to a criminal complaint Klokow admitted she was frustrated that both Jeaneen and James were crying at the same time.
She told detectives she grabbed Jeaneen from her stroller and threw her toward the couch. The baby, she said, let out a 'different kind of cry' and her eyes looked strange, according to the complaint.
Klokow told police she was struggling to cope with four young children.
She told detectives she wished she had never had children and acknowledged being abusive towards them.
The criminal complaint detailed a long list of other abuse against the children, including allegations that she broke James's arm and nose in separate incidents, and injured his knees by kicking him with steel-toed boots on multiple occasions.
District Attorney Joe De Cecco cited Klokow's advanced age and health as factors in the agreement reached at Sheboygan County Circuit Court (pictured)
The complaint also says she made her son Bruce stand in a corner with a paper bag on his head at the age of five or six while she hit each of his toes with a hammer.
Prosecutor Joe DeCecco said in 2011: 'We have to recognise it was something that happened in 1957 and it wasn't intentional, although it was reckless.
'She had a lot of kids at a relatively young age, she wasn't happy in her marriage, there was a lot of drinking going on there and she had a temper.'