Listen Live
Fantastic Voyage Generic Graphics Updated Nov 2023
Black America Web Featured Video
CLOSE

[Update]

FAWN RIVER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The adult sister of a 9-year-old boy who is charged with killing their mother said he has mental health problems and probably just “snapped” on the day of the shooting.

“My mom would not want him to be labeled a murderer,” Reagan Martin, 23, told MLive.com. “Her whole world revolved around him.”

Police said the 51-year-old mother was found dead Monday in her home in southern Michigan’s St. Joseph County. Martin said her brother was adopted in 2016 but has lived with the family since he was very young.

The Associated Press is not identifying the mother because to do so would identify the boy. Martin has a different last name.

“I am unable to comment on the facts or status of the case,” said T. J. Reed, an attorney for the boy. “It is important to allow this case to properly move through the legal process and to not pre-judge this child based on partial or unknown facts.”

Martin said her brother was diagnosed with a mood disorder that worsened in the last two weeks when his medication was changed. She said he was “hitting, kicking and throwing stuff.”

She said she thinks he “snapped” after he was kept home from school, and that she doesn’t know how he got access to a gun, as the family’s hunting rifles were usually locked up.

“I don’t think he meant to do it. I think (it) was probably a scare tactic,” Martin said.

She said she spent time with her mother and brother Sunday.

“He was playing with my kids,” Martin said. “He was happy. My mom was happy.”

Sheriff Bradley Balk said the boy underwent a psychiatric evaluation at a state-run juvenile facility after his arrest.

“I’m angry; don’t get me wrong,” Martin said. “But he’s my little brother and he needs help. I hope he gets it.”

_____

[Original]

FAWN RIVER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 9-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his mother in their southern Michigan home, according to court documents.

The woman was found early Monday morning in Fawn River Township, St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough told WWMT-TV . Fawn River Township is about 160 miles (260 kilometers) west-southwest of Detroit.

The boy also is charged with using a firearm during the commission of a felony. Documents filed Tuesday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court show the woman was shot with a rifle. WOOD-TV first reported the charges.

The Associated Press is not identifying the victim because to do so would identify the juvenile suspect. The boy was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at a state-run juvenile facility, according to county Sheriff Bradley Balk.

It isn’t clear if he was charged as an adult or a juvenile. Authorities have not released the circumstances of the killing or details of why the child was charged.

McDonough and Balk have not responded to messages left by an AP reporter seeking comment.

Alecia Pieronski of Sturgis told WWMT-TV that the boy threatened to stab her 8-year-old daughter to death in February last year. Pieronski said she told their elementary school principal but that nothing was done.

When contacted Wednesday by The AP, Pieronski said she was not comfortable discussing the comments she made to the TV station.

Sturgis Public Schools Superintendent Arthur Ebert released a statement to the media, but said nothing about the child or his circumstances.

“As a district it is our goal to provide support to our students, staff, and the community,” Ebert said. “We are limited in what we can share due to privacy laws and the sensitive nature of this tragedy.”

Shocking Celebrity Murders
0 photos

HEAD BACK TO THE BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM HOMEPAGE