14-Year-Old Indiana Girl Could Be Charged With Murder Of 4-Year-Old
By Samantha Abernethy in News on May 7, 2012 6:20PM
A 14-year-old Indianapolis girl faces murder charges after her 4-year-old cousin was found bleeding to death Saturday night. The boy, Leon Thomas III, was declared dead at the hospital, and the girl was found by police, "covered in blood and walking along a nearby street."
The boy had been stabbed, but not many details are available on what the Indianapolis Star called "an as-of-yet unexplained violent outburst." The girl is currently in custody at a juvenile detention center, but Indiana law allows children as young as 10 to be tried as an adult on murder charges. That's where prosecutors have paused.
The first in what is likely to be a series of difficult -- and controversial -- decisions on how to move forward with the case will not come until after the evidence is reviewed by the Marion County prosecutor.Experts told The Indianapolis Star that such a decision will have to take into account a number of factors, including motive and intent, the girl's background and other considerations such as any possible mental illness or history of being abused.
The prosecutors will decide this week on formal murder charges.