An elderly Sheboygan woman who pleaded guilty earlier this year to killing her infant daughter in 1957 is an “evil monster” who should spend hard time in prison, her son told an Associated Press reporter. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco has brokered a plea deal with Ruby Klokow, 75, recommending a sentence of 45 days in jail and 10 years on probation, meaning she would most likely remain under supervision for the rest of her life.
According to the investigation, Klokow forcefully threw her infant daughter, Jeaneen, who was about six months old, onto a couch in the family’s home, where the child bounced off and struck her head on the floor. Klokow told police at the time that the baby had fallen on her own, but the woman’s son, James Klokow Jr., came forward in 2008 and told authorities that his mother was a serial abuser who had caused the girl’s death. He said she later accused him of causing the accident by distracting her.
DeCecco has said that convincing a jury that Klokow lied to investigators more than 50 years ago was too big of a risk to take, and he’s admitted that the sentence is light considering the crime Klokow has confessed to. Klokow’s third child, a boy named Scott, also died as an infant, but DeCecco has no plans to charge her in the death.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1.
