A L’Anse man faces a lengthy jail term, after having been convicted in a federal jury trial of causing the death of a 19-month-old child.
Prosecutors charged that 37-year-old Eugene Walter George Rantanen beat the child to death. He was convicted on charges of murder and first degree child abuse, and is scheduled to be sentenced this fall.
On February 19, 2024, the toddler became unresponsive while in Rantanen’s sole custody, while the two were inside the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s L’Anse Reservation. After extensive medical intervention, the child succumbed to the injuries and died on February 24, 2024 at Milwaukee Children’s Hospital.
A medical examiner testified that the toddler had suffered blunt force trauma to the head, which caused significant injuries to the brain. Based on government witness testimony at trial, the only plausible explanation was that Rantanen caused the severe brain injuries.
“Any time a child dies, it is a tragedy. But it is particularly tragic when a caretaker causes the death,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Byerly Birge. “My office will hold individuals like Rantanen accountable for their violent crimes whenever it can.”
Rantanen had previously been convicted of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in 2006, when he was 18. That crime also took place inside the L’Anse Reservation. He was released from prison in 2013, with the proviso that he not return to Baraga County. He continued to get into trouble, and was returned to prison in 2016, after admitting that he had tried to steal a 40-foot yacht from the Escanaba Marina, assaulted a police officer, and abused alcohol and drugs in violation of his supervised release.
Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, credited local law enforcement for a thorough and cooperative investigation, including the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police, the Village of L’Anse Police, the Baraga County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police.
This case was part of the Department of Justice’s work to combat the missing and murder indigenous person’s (MMIP) crisis. The Bureau of Indian Affairs website has more information about the MMIP crisis.
