Colorado Boy, 11, May Be Charged with the Murder of His 5-Year-Old Brother

An 11-year-old Colorado boy is being held by juvenile authorities and may be charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 5-year-old brother.

USA Today reported that authorities in Arapahoe County responded on the evening of March 10 to a report of a fatality at a home in Centennial, a suburb of 110,000 some 15 miles south of downtown Denver.

Upon arriving, they found the five-year-old boy dead. By the following day, detectives identified the child’s 11-year-old brother as the suspect.

The boy was taken into custody, is being held at a juvenile facility, and is facing a potential first-degree murder charge, according to the sheriff’s department.

“Our hearts go out to the family of these two young boys and to everyone in our community who is grieving this loss,” Sheriff Tyler Brown said in a statement. “Cases involving the homicide of children are among the most difficult our deputies and investigators face.”

The cause of death has not been made available.

Homicide committed by 11-year-olds historically has been exceptionally rare. The most recent study by the National Institutes of Health, in 2017, showed that between 2005 and 2012 there were 20 homicide suspects aged 11-12 in the U.S., whereas there were 122 homicide suspects aged 13-14 in the same period.

News of the homicide, allegedly by the Colorado boy, has triggered a debate as to how the matter should be prosecuted.

Most murders by young children fall under juvenile statutes like the one in Colorado, where young minors have long been considered by the criminal justice system to be too immature to contemplate the consequences of their actions.

Some minors in egregious homicide cases can be tried as adults, but Colorado prevents that if the child is under the age of 12. Those who are tried as adults can be subject to long sentences.

Colorado’s juvenile system would allow prosecutors to seek only a seven-year sentence in a juvenile lockup for certain aggravated crimes, legal analysts say.

Once a convicted juvenile reaches adulthood, the juvenile is released with the hope that he or she has been rehabilitated and can start an adult life with a clean slate.

Juvenile arrest records are sealed and typically cannot be used to establish guilt or innocence in a trial if the former juvenile is charged with a crime as an adult but can be accessed and used in the sentencing process upon conviction.

The Colorado case appears exceptionally tragic in that the parents risk losing two children, one to an alleged wrongful death, the other to incarceration for up to seven years.

Authorities apparently are still investigating details connected to the case but said there is “no danger to the community.”

“We know tragedies like this impact not only the family, but also classmates, teachers, and neighbors throughout the community,” the sheriff said. “We appreciate the support and patience of the public as our investigators work to gather the facts and pursue justice in this case.”

Veteran crime writer Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.