Indianapolis residents are perplexed over why a girl, 14, would have stabbed her cousin, Leon Thomas III, 4, to death, reports the Indianapolis Star. The girl was being held at the Juvenile Detention Center as authorities pondered whether they should request that she be charged as an adult.
Bill Glick of Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force Inc., said the suspect should get a thorough psychological exam before any decision is made about where she will be tried. “This is such an unusual situation that it appears the impulsivity was out of her conscious control,” said Glick, whose nonprofit works with Indiana youths who have been in the juvenile justice system. “The fact that she left the house and wandered the street sounds like she disassociated herself from it. We need to find out what in her background led to this.” A next-door neighbor said, “What could go through a child’s mind to make them stab a baby?” she said. “No one here has the answer to that question.”