FL - Sonya Speights slain by BF's 12 & 13yo kids, Cococa, 1999

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Curtis J and his 13-year-old sister, Catherine, admitted to killing their father's girlfriend, Sonya Nicole Speights, in 1999.
-snip-
They became the youngest children in the country's history to be charged as adults for first-degree murder. Facing the prospect of life in prison, they pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were sentenced to 18 years in prison followed by probation for life.
-snip
Some of the conditions include paying $50 a month toward the cost of supervision after the first 18 months, not using intoxicants to excess, not moving without consulting his probation officer among a dozen other stipulations.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/loca...ngest-murderer-nears-prison-release/30504001/

I have chosen not to use their last name and only an initial but it is in the article. Their original plan was to kill their father, his gf and another man living with them. The motive was thought to be jealousy until documents and child welfare reports revealed the 12 and 13 yr old targeted them because claims of sexual abuse and their cries for help went nowhere. DCF acknowledged the signs of sexual abuse but closed the investigation.

Curtis is now 29 and an ordained minister and due to be released next Tuesday. He has not spoken to the media and asked his lawyer to not comment on his situation. His sister Catherine married her pen-pal love and will be released next month sometime. More info in the article. It sounds like she has spoken to media but I have not had the time to check yet.

I know the odds are against these two but I really hope, by the grace of God, someone takes him under their wing. I hope that probation for life gets reduced. I just pray they both find happiness and success as they adjust.
 
I worry for them. I hope they have someone on the outside that's willing to help them make it.
 
Wow. This is a very sad story.
I hope they manage ok.
The photos (in the article) of the children are really heart wrenching
 
They have my prayers. I remember having conversations with my brother when we were young about how great it would be if my father ran into a tree on his way home from work because he used to beat us so bad, so I can empathize.
 
Look at those baby faces in the pictures. Those faces deserved to have been loved, cared for, tucked in at night, and protected. Instead, their lives a drastic opposite. How do people look at children and want to destroy them?
I have hope for them. Although I didn't commit any crimes, I'm no where near the person I was as a young teen/preteen. People do grow and change. I wish the best for them.
 
They have my prayers. I remember having conversations with my brother when we were young about how great it would be if my father ran into a tree on his way home from work because he used to beat us so bad, so I can empathize.
I thought I was the only child who wished her father dead while driving home due to the abuse. IT has been over 30 years, and I still remember wishing this like it was yesterday. Thank you for being candid.
 
(I am not sure if this is posted elsewhere. I searched but came up with nothing. Please feel free to close/move, etc if need be)

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/1-2-convicted-killers-released-florida-prison/nm7qm/

One of two of the country's youngest convicted killers was released from a Florida prison Tuesday morning, according to the South Bay Correctional Facility.
Former Brevard County residents Curtis and Catherine Jones were 12 and 13 years old when they killed their father’s girlfriend, Sonya Speights, and were sentenced to prison in 1999.
Curtis Jones was released Tuesday and his newly listed address is in Titusville. His sister is set to be released on Friday, and both will spend the rest of lives on probation, though they could petition the court for early termination.
Investigators said they confessed to wanting to first kill a relative who had sexually abused them, and then their father and his girlfriend for not protecting them.

I personally do not know anything about this case and have nothing personal to add (yet) - so I need to go start reading - but saw this mentioned on FB and came straight here.


Another source w/ more info:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-old-sister-looks-forward-release-age-29.html
 
I was wondering about what sort of skills they'd have or how weird the world will seem to them now, and also wondering if they'd be all alone. I hope they have people on the outside to help them adjust.

Since being incarcerated, Fairchild became an ordained minister and Jones married a pen pal, Channel 9 learned.
 
Sounds like a recipe for failure for these two. Heartbreaking. At this point they have to be perfect citizens for possibly 50 plus years while dealing with the stress of having basically grown up in prison and finding their way in the outside world they are unfamiliar with.
 
[h=1]After prison, Catherine Jones now gazes at the stars[/h]She works at Sonic every night, has her own small place, spends time with her mother and, oh yeah, she just got back from Washington, D.C. where she met with several lawmakers including Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to lobby for change in how youthful offenders are sentenced. She got involved with the organizations ICAN — Incarcerated Children Advocacy Network — and CFSY — the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth — within days of being released this August[FONT=arial, sans-serif].[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]She as been busy and productive and hoping to spend Thanksgiving with her brother and dad. She also received a presidential academic scholarship for school. I hope her and her brother are successful in over-coming their past. [/FONT]
 

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