NM - Byron Hilburn, 42, shot to death, 10yo son charged, Belen, 27 Aug 2009

[Linda7NJ]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- An 11-year-old New Mexico boy who police say reported he fatally shot his father because the man was punishing him was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.

According to a police report, the boy told officers he shot his father because he was upset about punishment imposed by Hilburn. The boy also told police he used his own rifle to shoot Hilburn

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHILD_SHOOTING?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

He was only 10 at the time

 

[southcitymom]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- An 11-year-old New Mexico boy who police say reported he fatally shot his father because the man was punishing him was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.

According to a police report, the boy told officers he shot his father because he was upset about punishment imposed by Hilburn. The boy also told police he used his own rifle to shoot Hilburn

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHILD_SHOOTING?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

He was only 10 at the time

From the article: "State Children, Youth and Families Department spokeswoman Romaine Serna said that since 2003, state officials have received nine calls regarding the family on a department hot line used to report possible child abuse or neglect."

It's interesting also that he flagged down police after he shot his Dad. Very sad case.

 

[kgeaux]

From the article: "State Children, Youth and Families Department spokeswoman Romaine Serna said that since 2003, state officials have received nine calls regarding the family on a department hot line used to report possible child abuse or neglect."

It's interesting also that he flagged down police after he shot his Dad. Very sad case.

Oh, my God. NINE calls reported possible abuse or neglect, and that little one was left at the mercy of his father? It's not out of my realm of imagination that the kid realized NO ONE was EVER going to help him. I wonder what kind of punishment the boy was upset about? I'm thinking he flagged down police because he thought he did the only thing he could do---he may even have felt he was protecting his little sister, who was there with him.

I'm thinking this reminds me of battered women who strike out and are harshly punished. And I totally agree that this is an emotionally charged case. While I agree the kid needs some help, I fail to see how charging him with murder will accomplish that goal.

 

[Tulessa]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 10-year-old New Mexico boy lived in an abusive, filthy home and had tried desperately to get help to stop the beatings he and his younger siblings had for years faced at the hands of their abusive father, his attorney says.

Then, one day in 2009, prosecutors say, he put a gun to the head of his 250-pound father and killed him at their Belen, N.M., home.

http://newsok.com/article/3872280?slideout=1

 

[OkieGranny]

From April 2015:

http://www.abqjournal.com/577102/news/da-to-drop-first-degree-murder-charge-against-belen-boy.html

After several years of legal setbacks, prosecutors say they will drop a first-degree murder charge filed against a Belen boy who was 10 years old when he allegedly shot his father in the back of the head with a shotgun at the family home...

Testimony by Hilburn’s then-6-year-old sister about the shooting, and the boy’s admissions when he called 911 and to officers at the scene – “I shot my dad in the head because he was punishing me,” he told them – were ruled inadmissible...

Martinez said that given the evidence left to use at trial, there was little choice but to drop the charge because the existing evidence was insufficient...

Throughout the long process, Martinez said it was always the intent of the state to obtain treatment for [the boy].