Ten-year-old charged with murder of 7-month-old niece in St. Louis
A 10-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder after a 7-month-old was fatally shot in St. Louis. The case is believed to be the youngest murder charge in Missouri history.
Missouri's youngest murder suspect: 10-year-old charged over death of infant niece
A 10-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder following the fatal shooting of his 7-month-old niece in St. Louis, firstalert4.com reports — a case that appears to be without precedent in Missouri's legal history.
The infant, Kiyomi Parker, was shot on Friday in the 8400 block of North Broadway in the city's Baden neighbourhood. St. Louis police performed what they described as a "scoop and go," placing Parker in the back seat of a patrol car and rushing her to hospital while an officer continued life-saving efforts during the journey. Officers blocked traffic to speed up the route. Parker was later pronounced dead.
The following day, the 10-year-old was charged with first-degree murder in juvenile court. Based on firstalert4.com's research, this appears to be the youngest child in Missouri ever to face a murder charge. The baby's father, Ca'Marion Pawnell, is also facing charges in connection with the shooting.
On Monday, Joel Currier, spokesman for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, released a formal statement confirming the charge and outlining the legal constraints governing the case.
"The 10-year-old was also ordered to be placed in the protective custody of Missouri Children's Division and is currently at a hospital where he is being psychiatrically evaluated," Currier stated.
Because the boy is under 12, Missouri law bars any certification proceedings that would transfer his case to adult court. Currier cited section 211.071 RSMo, which permits juveniles aged 12 and older to be certified as adults for certain serious or dangerous felonies, while explicitly prohibiting the prosecution of under-12s as adults under any circumstances.
"Therefore, the murder allegations pending in the juvenile's case must be proceeded on exclusively within the Juvenile Court," Currier said.
The 22nd Judicial Circuit's Juvenile Division stated its mission as administering "justice with compassion, dignity and respect while promoting child protection, safe communities and youth competency while holding youths accountable, repairing harm to victims and strengthening families."
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)