Kentucky 7-yr-old charged w/murder

[LovelyPigeon]

This child's mother has prostitution and assault convictions; his father is currently in jail on a different charge. What a sad story, all the way around!

He's currently in juvenile detention in my county, but how to handle his detention as such a young child is perplexing for LE.

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=3546192&nav=0RZFbgRy

[mysteriew]

How does a 7 yo manage to stab and kill a 62 yo man? Even wounded the man should have been able to overpower him.
Any word on why the boy stabbed the man?
Mom does appear to be trying to take the blame for the stabbing, trying in some ways to protect the boy (although misguidedly). This is going to be an interesting case.

[mysteriew]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050701/NEWS0104/507010380

Also yesterday, Whitesell extended an order prohibiting Teresa Sanders from having contact with either of her sons. Authorities said a younger son also was living in the home at the time of the slaying.

The coroner's office said Robert Sanders, 62, was stabbed once, with no signs of a struggle.

Police had been called to the Moscow Avenue house at least once previously for "civil disputes," but no charges resulted, he said.

[LovelyPigeon]

Maybe Sanders was asleep and/or drunk when he was stabbed, and that's why he showed no signs of a struggle.

"Competency of a 7-year-old is a significant issue, that is to say whether a 7-year-old is competent to make statements or to testify or to participate in his own defense," McNeill said.
Citing confidentiality, McNeill would not reveal the boy's next court date.
"There are a lot of issues to be resolved," McNeill said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Langford said the case is being investigated in a "timely fashion."
"It's a very troubling case by the nature of the allegations and the occurrence itself," Langford said.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/12030263.htm

Sometimes life is just oh, so sad.

[LovelyPigeon]

Maybe Sanders was asleep and/or drunk when he was stabbed, and that's why he showed no signs of a struggle.

"Competency of a 7-year-old is a significant issue, that is to say whether a 7-year-old is competent to make statements or to testify or to participate in his own defense," McNeill said.
Citing confidentiality, McNeill would not reveal the boy's next court date.
"There are a lot of issues to be resolved," McNeill said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Langford said the case is being investigated in a "timely fashion."
"It's a very troubling case by the nature of the allegations and the occurrence itself," Langford said.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/12030263.htm

Sometimes life is just oh, so sad.

[LovelyPigeon]

Tue, Jul. 19, 2005
Prosecutors drop murder charge against mother of 7-year-old accused killer
Associated Press

HICKMAN, Ky. - The mother of a 7-year-old boy charged with killing her boyfriend will not face trial for murder after prosecutors dropped the charge against her on Tuesday.

A grand jury will decide whether Teresa Sanders should face second-degree criminal abuse charges in the death of her boyfriend, Fulton District Judge Hunter Whitesell ruled after the hearing.

Fulton County Attorney Rick Major dropped the complicity to commit murder charge before the start of Sanders' preliminary hearing Tuesday in Fulton County Circuit Court.--->>

Police said last week that Sanders was not at home at the time of the slaying. A police report said Sanders left her 7-year-old son and her 4-year-old son home alone with Robert Sanders while she left to smoke crack cocaine.

The 7-year-old stabbed Robert Sanders while he was sleeping as the younger brother watched, police said.--->>

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http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/12173152.htm

[LovelyPigeon]

Care in private facility likely for boy, 7, accused of murder
Experts say case full of questions
By James Malone
jmalone@courier-journal.com
[I]The Courier-Journal
PADUCAH, Ky. -- A 7-year-old boy charged with killing his mother's boyfriend June 27 likely will receive counseling and therapy in a setting away from a state juvenile jail, experts say.

The boy is the youngest Kentucky child in at least 35 years to be charged with murder, state officials and juvenile-justice experts say.

Under Kentucky law, he is too young to be tried as an adult or sentenced to a juvenile facility, but could be placed in specialized foster care or a private psychiatric hospital.

Experts say the boy's case will hinge on whether he had the mental capacity to know the difference between right and wrong and whether he is competent to make decisions about his case.

"There is long-standing case law in Kentucky that a 7-year-old doesn't have the mental capacity to form intent," said Rebecca DiLoretto, a lawyer with the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy.



http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050721/NEWS0104/507210410/1008/NEWS01

I pray this little boy and his younger brother can be "rehabilitated" and saved from the life they've been forced to live with a crack-smoking prostitute mother.

[LovelyPigeon]

Today's Paducah Sun says that this 7-year-old's case, to be resolved behind closed courtroom doors, will be concluded in this new year of 2006. The charge remains murder.

His mother, Teresa Sanders, 39, has been charged with criminal abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor. Police say the 7-year-old was known by his mother to have "violent tendencies". She had left the 7-year-old in charge of his 4-year-old brother, and both alone with one of her sleeping-it-off "tricks".

What a sad and pathetic case this is!

[Linda7NJ]

Hmmmmmm I am wondering if they place this child in a therapeutic foster home will they inform the foster parents of what EXACTLY he did? I know for a fact that here in my state they wouldn't. SCARY huh?

[LovelyPigeon]

Under Kentucky law, he is too young to be tried as an adult or sentenced to a juvenile facility, but could be placed in specialized foster care or a private psychiatric hospital.

I think that specialized foster care under Kentucky law would insist on full information to the fostering parents, and to qualified foster parents trained to deal with the type of child they're given to care for. It's rare that a child this young is charged with murder, so I don't know how many specialized care families are available to deal with a situation like this one.

It's a question I don't know the answer to, though, and will have to research.

[SnootyVixen]

[QUOTE=LovelyPigeon]Maybe Sanders was asleep and/or drunk when he was stabbed, and that's why he showed no signs of a struggle.
QUOTE]

Me, I think this must be the case. Having a crack cocaine addiction in the mother, it makes me wonder if the little boy was born a "crack baby". The tendency towards violence, that would explain plus who knows what else damage it causes in the developing brains of the poor children. The nervous system is poorly developed at birth and continues to develop throughout childhood beyond the age of 7.
Interesting, the way he had the younger brother as an audience while he did the stabbing. Almost as if it were a game or demonstration.
Interesting also is that he knew where to make the one stab count. And interesting also is the mother's propensity to stab. From her he might have picked up the stabbing part.
When I first read it I thought probably a defense against an abusive mother's boyfriend but the later stories do not sound like that.
For my opinion, I do not think that children this young kill like a murderer kills. I think they kill out of fear, for themselves or their parent or siblings. Or they have something wrong with the brain and kill for strange reasons we can not comprehend. In which case they are a danger.

[Greywing]

[QUOTE=LovelyPigeon]Maybe Sanders was asleep and/or drunk when he was stabbed, and that's why he showed no signs of a struggle.
QUOTE]

Me, I think this must be the case. Having a crack cocaine addiction in the mother, it makes me wonder if the little boy was born a "crack baby". The tendency towards violence, that would explain plus who knows what else damage it causes in the developing brains of the poor children. The nervous system is poorly developed at birth and continues to develop throughout childhood beyond the age of 7.
Interesting, the way he had the younger brother as an audience while he did the stabbing. Almost as if it were a game or demonstration.
Interesting also is that he knew where to make the one stab count. And interesting also is the mother's propensity to stab. From her he might have picked up the stabbing part.
When I first read it I thought probably a defense against an abusive mother's boyfriend but the later stories do not sound like that.
For my opinion, I do not think that children this young kill like a murderer kills. I think they kill out of fear, for themselves or their parent or siblings. Or they have something wrong with the brain and kill for strange reasons we can not comprehend. In which case they are a danger.
I totally agree with you SV. A 7 year old is a child ... I just can't bear to imagine what these children have been exposed to. I don't think the majority of 7 year olds would even think of picking up a knife and stabbing someone!

[bakerprune64]

Hmmmmmm I am wondering if they place this child in a therapeutic foster home will they inform the foster parents of what EXACTLY he did? I know for a fact that here in my state they wouldn't. SCARY huh?
They have to inform the foster families here in California. I cannot imagine putting a traumatized child in a foster home and not sharing the history of the child with the foster parents.

[missacorah]

Gosh!

Snooty Vixen, what were the later stories you mentioned that made you think it wasnt just a case of a defensive child going against an abusive adult as I was of the same opinion as you were. Be grateful if you could update me ! Thanks!

[SnootyVixen]

Gosh!

Snooty Vixen, what were the later stories you mentioned that made you think it wasnt just a case of a defensive child going against an abusive adult as I was of the same opinion as you were. Be grateful if you could update me ! Thanks!

Just that all I read said that the victim was a very nice man and non violent.

[jannuncutt]

I can't help but wonder if the boyfriend was sexually abusing 7 year-old and/or his brother.

[Details]

A 62 year old boyfriend? That guy could be his grandfather - almost his great grandfather! And a 7 year old is definitely not competent to stand trial - way too young, way too immature.

[LovelyPigeon]

I haven't read any updates on this case, but I'm hopeful that this child can be rehabilitated with a loving, steady foster family. I can't help but belive that this 7-year-old believed he was "defending" himself and/or his family when he stabbed the man once.

This is the kind of case that you pray to hear about 20 years from now, when the 7-year-old has a testimony of recovery and success to share with the world.