Little David Polreis was the adopted Russian son of Renee and David. He was beaten to death with wooden spoons and a rubber spatula, he was only 2 years old. Renee beat him on February 10, 1996, then she called her brother, a friend, a therapist and then finally the paramedics. Little David died three hours later at the hospital. Police had found two broken wooden spoons wrapped in a blood-soaked diaper. Renee's attorneys said that David suffered from reactive attachment disorder, which causes violent rages in children during which they sometimes injure themselves. But two therapists testified that Renee told them that she had hurt David because she "just lost it."
Renee Polreis was sentenced to 22 years in prison.