Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – A 5-year-old girl could face murder charges in the recent drowning of a toddler in a bathtub, police said on Thursday.

Kansas City police are waiting for a medical examiner's report on how Jermane Johnson Jr., died, but have investigated the death as a homicide, spokesman Darin Snapp said Thursday.

"I've been in law enforcement for 20 years and it's the youngest suspect I can remember," Snapp said. "It's extremely rare."

Johnson, 18 months old, was in a Kansas City house on June 3rd with other children, but the 16-year-old girl who was supposed to be looking after them fell asleep, Snapp said.

Investigators learned through interviews that a 5-year-old girl in the house got irritated at the boy, Snapp said.

"She said she got angry because he would not stop crying and she held him under the water until he stopped crying," Snapp said.

Snapp said a decision on to handle the case will be left up to prosecutors after the medical examiner's report is released.

(Editing by James B. Kelleher and Peter Bohan)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110609/...pphu-container

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

A five year old? This is disturbing that one a child would be charged with this, and also because of the nature of the crime. What about holding the baby sitter somewhat responsible, although I don't see charging any of them with murder. I would say an accident, but not murder. Hum...interested to hear the dialogue on this.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

That's ridiculous. A 5 y/o barely has the cognitive ability to understand that death is permanent. The person to blame is the person who left the 5 y/o unsupervised with an 18 month old.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Absolutely. The babysitter should be the one held responsible.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Oh, my bad. They should prosecute the PARENT[S]--the 16 year old babysitter was mentally handicapped. :blink


"...The incident happened Friday, June 3 just before midnight. According to Darin Snapp with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, a mentally handicapped 16-year-old was babysitting the children, but was sleeping at the time of the drowning."

--Article

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

The 16 year old? I hardly think that this would constitute a murder charge.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

A lot of questions. Where were the parents, who filled the tub? How did a 5 year old put an 18 month old in a tub? Sounds like learned behavior.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

I disagree.

The 16 year old fell asleep.

If there was a known risk of this 5 year old killing the 18 month old, then the parents would never have left the life of their 18 month old in the hands of a 16 year old.



This is one of those cases where I truly believe that there isn't a human being that can be held responsible for this tragedy.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

In my mind, I am certain that the parents are not responsible for this tragedy.

It's impossible for a human being to, "see this coming...."

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Who puts their children in the care of a mentally handicapped person???? Most certainly they should be prosecuted for criminal neglect, at the very least.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

How "mentally handicapped" is this person?


The parents had enough confidence in the intellectual capacities of this person for a reason.

In fact, this 16 year old was more than likely someone known and trusted by the family-- thus, the decision to give her the chance to exercise a sense of responsibility in a situation that usually does not include the risk of death by drowning at the hands of a five year old.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Sometimes, tragedies happen and there isn't anyone to blame.

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

I think a 16 year old is normally capable of watching a child. Capable enough to know that they can't go to sleep and leave them unattended. So while I wouldn't hold a 16 year old as responsible as an older adult, certainly they are old enough to know that they had a job to do and sleeping on the job isn't on the agenda.

That said, I read the second article and found out that the 16 year old was mentally handicapped, which places the onus for this directly on the parents or primary caregivers.

I have a friend who let her daughter stay all night with another little girl. Both the girls are 6 or 7 years old, and the place where she spent the night--there are two other small children, ages (approx) 4 & 2. The mother of the 3 kids got up the next morning and went out to buy donuts, and left ALL FOUR of those children alone in the house. The two older girls were using curling and straightening irons to fix their hair while she was gone. I don't know about you, but I can think of at least ten things that could have gone tragically wrong in that house while the mother stepped out. Anywhere from dropping the curling iron in the sink with water, or the 2 year old wandering outside or one of them choking on something, etc. etc. IMO, that comprises neglect. My friend was livid when she found out, btw.

An adult DOES need to think about the possibilities and "see things coming" that may or may not happen. Part of parenting is taking precautions to prevent the unforeseeable. Yes, tragedies happen, but some are preventable, and in this case, leaving small children unattended is clearly neglect. (Because having a 16 year old mentally handicapped person isn't leaving them "attended).

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Does it matter? I wouldn't leave my children in the hands of anyone who wasn't 100% capable of making good, rational decisions and of reacting correctly in the case of an emergency.


True enough, but IMO, this is a case where blame can be placed. :foottap

Re: Five Year Old / Murder Charge
 

Exactly. My personal comfort level would not be to have an extremely competent, responsible 16 y/o watching my young children at midnight, let alone someone who may have deficiencies in judgment.