Post by Chips on Jan 7, 2009 11:05:51 GMT 9.5
Boy kills mum, tot shoots babysitter
January 6, 2009 - 2:37PM
A 12-year-old boy has been found guilty of murder after shooting his mother following an argument over chores, US justice records stated today.
A judge in Cochise County Superior Court in the small Arizona town of Bisbee found the boy guilty after a hearing on Friday, according to court records. The boy cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Local media said the boy and his 34-year-old mother argued at the family home in August. After the boy's mother left the home, her son retrieved a pistol from her bedroom, waited for her to return and then shot her eight times. The woman's boyfriend witnessed the shooting.
The victim's sister testified on Friday that the victim did not want the boy to live with her and was often abusive, yelling at him and hitting him.
``He is a docile, sweet boy,'' she told the court.
Under Arizona law, the boy will be released when he turns 18. Sentencing is set for January 23. Any sentencing outcomes will involve treatment, according to the boy's attorney, Sanford Edleman.
Edleman said the crime was part of a tragic cycle which had seen the child's mother abused as a child.
``I believe part of this child's problems had something to do with that cycle,'' Edleman said.
``This was a huge tragedy from the beginning.
``You wonder why after so many years a child makes the decision to act in a certain way. It's a huge cycle of tragedy from one generation to the next.''
In another state on Sunday an angry four-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter, US police say.
Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalised on Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.
Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.
Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.
AP and AFP
January 6, 2009 - 2:37PM
A 12-year-old boy has been found guilty of murder after shooting his mother following an argument over chores, US justice records stated today.
A judge in Cochise County Superior Court in the small Arizona town of Bisbee found the boy guilty after a hearing on Friday, according to court records. The boy cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Local media said the boy and his 34-year-old mother argued at the family home in August. After the boy's mother left the home, her son retrieved a pistol from her bedroom, waited for her to return and then shot her eight times. The woman's boyfriend witnessed the shooting.
The victim's sister testified on Friday that the victim did not want the boy to live with her and was often abusive, yelling at him and hitting him.
``He is a docile, sweet boy,'' she told the court.
Under Arizona law, the boy will be released when he turns 18. Sentencing is set for January 23. Any sentencing outcomes will involve treatment, according to the boy's attorney, Sanford Edleman.
Edleman said the crime was part of a tragic cycle which had seen the child's mother abused as a child.
``I believe part of this child's problems had something to do with that cycle,'' Edleman said.
``This was a huge tragedy from the beginning.
``You wonder why after so many years a child makes the decision to act in a certain way. It's a huge cycle of tragedy from one generation to the next.''
In another state on Sunday an angry four-year-old Ohio boy grabbed a gun from a closet and shot his baby sitter, US police say.
Nathan Beavers, 18, was hospitalised on Sunday with minor wounds to his arm and side after the shotgun attack. Police say another teen was also injured.
Witnesses told police the child was angry because Beavers accidentally stepped on his foot. Beavers was watching the child at a mobile home in Jackson with several other teenagers and several other children.
Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen says authorities are investigating. The child has not been charged.
AP and AFP