Thread: 12-Year Old Arrested in 8-Year Old's Murder

April 28, 2004 http://www.wgnx.com/Global/story.asp?S=1816793

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday in the strangulation of an 8-year-old girl who disappeared during a bike ride to a neighboring friend's home.

The boy was charged with murder in the slaying of Amy Michelle Yates, whose body was found Monday night in tall weeds about 100 feet outside her trailer park. Her bike was found between two abandoned trailers within view of her home.

Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters that preliminary autopsy results indicated that the girl was strangled by hand. He said investigators believe the boy acted alone. "This investigation is continuing, and there still is a great deal of work to be done," Langley told The Times-Georgian newspaper of Carrollton.

"We are awaiting additional crime reports and continuing to work around the clock to seal up this case." He and Chief Deputy Sheriff Brad Robinson would not disclose what led investigators to the boy, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile.

They would say only that he was a resident of Carroll County. Robinson said the boy was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday -- almost 24 hours after the girl disappeared -- and was transported to the Paulding County Youth Detention Center in Dallas, Ga.

The juvenile courts and District Attorney Pete Skandalakis would determine how to proceed with charges, Robinson said. Many of the girl's neighbors helped her parents search the area late Monday after they learned she never arrived at her friend's home.

Officers told the searchers to go indoors at around 9:30 p.m. Monday -- about two hours into the search -- so a helicopter could scan the area using infrared technology. The girl's body was found soon after, Robinson said.

Some of the neighbors had said they suspected the killer lived among them. "In my heart, I believe it was someone in this trailer park," said Shelly Bowman, whose sons regularly played with Amy. "I don't see how a stranger could've snatched her without a scream, a holler or anything. I just don't see it."

Bowman lives next to the trailer where the bike was found, about 80 yards from her home. Most of the Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park is wedged between low, dense woods and Smyrna Church Road, right off U.S. Highway 27 north of Carrollton.

The park is made up of three street stubs with nine to 11 trailers each and another road winding behind the woods where Amy was found. Most of the trailers are about 15 to 20 yards apart.

Children in the trailer park don't typically play in the area where the girl was found, said Bill Vallandingham, 39, a neighbor who helped search for her Monday, including where she was found. "It's so thick back there. It's hard to find anybody," he said. Bowman and her sister, Ansley Cherry, 21, were returning from the grocery store Monday evening when they heard Amy was missing.

The girl's father, Thomas, "ran to the car and asked 'Have you seen Amy? Is she with you?' I said we hadn't seen her all day," Cherry said. Cherry said she last saw Amy on Saturday when the youngster came looking for Cherry's little sister, Brieanna, 13.

Neighborhood children, including Amy, were often found playing in Bowman's half-acre lot about 50 yards from the unkempt trail that led to the body. The trail goes through a wooded area behind the park to a dried-up lake and railroad tracks.

The head of the trail is about 100 yards from the the girl's trailer. Cherry held her 2-year-old daughter, Teonna, close as she recalled her emotions as police posted crime-scene tape along the perimeter of her sister's property. "I was hoping and praying it was accidental because they say she has asthma," Cherry said.

Many in the park didn't want to talk. They sat on their porches watching police mill around, but would abruptly step inside their trailers when approached by reporters. Amy's parents had four cars parked outside their home, and a Carroll County policewoman stood guard on the street, turning reporters away and saying the Yates family didn't want to talk.

The Yates' listed telephone number was disconnected. Bowman and Cherry described Amy as a bright, energetic girl who made friends easily, even with older kids like Brieanna. Her classmates at Central Elementary School were having trouble dealing with her death, said Carroll County Schools spokesman Brian Doss.

Teachers informed students of her death Tuesday morning on a room-by-room basis, and counselors from throughout the school system will be on hand this week to help the children, Doss said. Back at the trailer park, residents were trying to cope themselves. Bowman said she is considering moving out. Even though the park has never had crime problems, she fears for her two sons' safety.

Vallandingham's 14-year-old daughter doesn't live with him, but he said that won't stop him from maintaining a paternal lookout over the park. "I'm going to keep my eye on these kids all the time when I'm home," he said.

Originally Posted by caides_mom

April 28, 2004 http://www.wgnx.com/Global/story.asp?S=1816793

Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley told reporters that preliminary autopsy results indicated that the girl was strangled by hand. He said investigators believe the boy acted alone.

Something I don't understand -- it is not easy to strangle someone manualy. How big is this 12 year old ??

Now we can't even trust other children .....

Thats just too sad

update:
http://www.wgnx.com/Global/story.asp?S=1816793

April 28, 2004

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- A 12-year-old boy accused of strangling his 8-year-old neighbor was will not be charged as an adult in the killing and could only be sentenced to up two years in prison if he is convicted, prosecutors said Wednesday.

46 FORUM: Should he be tried as an adult instead?

District Attorney Pete Skandalakis said he had no choice under Georgia law but to try the boy as a juvenile. Georgia law only gives the option to try someone as an adult if they are at least 13 years old. "There is no option. There's nothing available to us without the law being changed," Skandalakis said.

He said the family of the victim, Amy Yates, was "heartbroken" that the boy couldn't receive a more severe penalty. "I do not feel two years is sufficient as punishment in this case," Skandalakis said.

The boy, whose name is not being released by police, was ordered to remain in a youth detention center. Juvenile Court Judge Daniel Camp ruled Wednesday that there is probable cause that the boy committed a delinquent act and therefore should continue to remain in custody.

The boy is accused of strangling Yates on Monday evening when she disappeared while riding her bike to a friend's home in her trailer park. He also lived in the park. Yates' body was found hours later fully clothed in a nearby gully filled with tall weeds.

Police have not said why they believe the boy would kill the girl.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

I just seen this on our news a little bit ago.

This is so sad-I just do not know what to think of all these kids that kill.
I do not understand him only getting 2 yrs-I thought even if you did not get tried as an adult they could still keep you in somewhere til you reached 18.
I'm think the kid needs help and needs to be punished but I think prison would make him even more violent

Originally Posted by ImaGApeach

This is so sad-I just do not know what to think of all these kids that kill.

I do not understand him only getting 2 yrs-I thought even if you did not get tried as an adult they could still keep you in somewhere til you reached 18.

I'm think the kid needs help and needs to be punished but I think prison would make him even more violent

He probably needs mental treatment - this is certainly atypical behavior for a 12 year old. It is possiable that he has been abused and is modeling that behavior. If they do not get him the appropriate treatment who knows what else he could be capable of


Am I the only one who finds it odd that after reading several articles from different sources - not one mention of the boys' household ?? Where are his parents/family members ?

update

April 29, 2004

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- A 12-year-old Carrolton boy accused of strangling an 8-year-old neighbor girl was interrogated for four hours without his parents or an attorney present before reportedly admitting to the crime, his attorney said Thursday.

"My client steadfastly maintains his innocence in this case," said his lawyer, Gerald Word. "If there was an admission, it was not only under duress, it was flat wrong. I imagine I could have this 12-year-old admit to killing John Kennedy."

It was only after lengthy questioning Tuesday that the boy, whose name is not being released by authorities, allegedly acknowledged killing 8-year-old Amy Yates, Word said. The boy was charged with murder Tuesday evening.

The boy claims he was "repeatedly called a liar" during the interrogation and was not read his rights before being questioned, Word said. The Carroll County Sheriff's Department denied Word's allegations. While the boy was questioned without his parents present, it was not for that long, Chief Deputy Brad Robinson said.

"That's not the case," Robinson said in response to Word's claims. "I disagree with that." Yates disappeared Monday evening while riding her bike to a friend's home in her trailer park, where the boy also lived.

Her body was found hours later, fully clothed, in a nearby gully filled with tall weeds. Authorities have said the boy acted alone in the killing, but have refused to comment why the boy would kill the girl or what led investigators to him.

Prosecutors say they have no choice under Georgia law but to try the boy as a juvenile because of his age. State law says a person may only be tried as an adult if he is at least 13 years old. If convicted, the boy also could only be sentenced to up to two years in prison.

District Attorney Pete Skandalakis said the Georgia Legislature should consider changing the law. "If we need to change the law, we need to change the right of police to interrogate a 12-year-old without his parents present," Word said. "That's brutal."