Parents cop to murder in case of 9-year-old's corpse found in Pa. home

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A central Pennsylvania man and woman have pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and other charges in the death last year of their 9-year-old son, who had a genetic disorder with autism-like symptoms.

Jarrod Tutko Sr., 39, pleaded guilty Monday in Dauphin County Court to the murder charge as well as to child endangerment and concealing the death of a child. Kimberly Tutko, 40, pleaded guilty to murder and child endangerment.

An autopsy determined that the boy, Jarrod Tutko Jr., weighed less than 17 pounds when his body was found in August 2014 in the family's Harrisburg home and that he died of malnutrition and neglect. The Tutkos were charged the following month.

Police said the child lived in a locked, feces-smeared room on the third floor of the home, and detective Rodney Shoeman testified last year that he smelled "a strong odor of decomposition" when he approached the residence.

He said Kimberly Tutko told him that she had tried unsuccessfully to combat the stench with mothballs and bleach, thinking it came from dead mice, and it wasn't until she asked her husband about it that he revealed that the child had died.

"There's something wrong with him. He passed away a couple days ago," the wife quoted her husband as saying, according to Shoeman.

On Monday, both defendants stood before the judge in county prison uniforms, and Kimberly Tutko appeared to have been crying, PennLive.com reported.

Neither defendant has an agreement with prosecutors on sentencing. Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean McCormack said guidelines call for a term of up to 20 years in prison for the third-degree murder charge.

McCormack told the judge during the hearing for Jarrod Tutko Sr. that prosecutors believe the case was third-degree murder - "a killing with malice." But, he noted, prosecutors don't believe Tutko intended to kill the boy. Kimberly Tutko's lawyer, Michael Palermo, said his client "took responsibility" for her actions. "She understands there's a legal duty a parent has to a child," he said. "You can't shirk that duty.

Kimberly Tutko, in a previous interview with CBS affiliate WHP, said that her husband had been the primary caretaker of their son.

Harrisburg police said in a statement that Jarrod waited several days to tell her that their son had died, informing his wife about the death only "when the odor of decomposition became too strong."

Police found the boy's body when they were called to the home. They also found the couple's 10-year-old daughter in dire health. The parents pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and child endangerment related to her case.

She and four other surviving Tutko children were placed in foster care, authorities said.