Truesee's Daily Wonder

An 11-year-old Morgan County boy on Friday became the youngest person to face a murder charge in Indiana in about 90 years.

Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega charged the boy with murder and criminal recklessness in the fatal shooting of his 6-year-old brother at a home south of Martinsville.

Initial reports from the Morgan County sheriff's office indicated the shooting may have been accidental, but Sonnega said investigators sometimes discover evidence that leads to an unexpected outcome.

"You always have to keep an open mind, especially with the death of a child," he said. "This is very sad, very tragic, but we've got a job to do, and we have to be objective."

A Morgan Superior Court judge ordered that the circumstances surrounding the shooting be kept confidential, but Sonnega said details might be revealed Wednesday when the boy appears for an initial hearing in juvenile court. The boy was being held in a juvenile detention facility Friday, he said.

The Indianapolis Star does not typically release the names of juveniles charged with crimes unless they are charged in adult court.

The boys were alone when the 6-year-old was shot in the head in a home in the 1800 block of Oliver Court, south of Martinsville, police said.

The 11-year-old called 911 to report the shooting about 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

Officers arrived and found the 6-year-old on a bed in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. The boy was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where he died at 8:03 p.m. Thursday, police said. Judge Christopher Burnham's order after a probable cause hearing Friday barred Sonnega from disclosing details of the case, he said.

The boys were cared for by their mother and her boyfriend, but Sonnega declined to say where the adults were at the time of the shooting. The adults arrived at the hospital before the boy died, police said.

Prosecutors and police were investigating possible neglect charges against the adults, Sonnega said.

"Obviously this is a very tragic time for them. We'll address that issue down the road."

Sonnega said he could not disclose whether the boy was shot with a handgun, rifle or shotgun. He also declined to say if the 11-year-old cooperated with investigators.

Sonnega said the murder and criminal recklessness charges might change as new evidence is discovered.

"There's a lot of things we need to find out," he said. "We've got to err on the side of safety, and we have to act appropriately.

"Murder can be knowingly or intentionally," Sonnega said. "There is a slight difference. Knowingly means when you engage in conduct you know there is a high probability of the outcome."

The prosecutor also asked the question many in the community are wondering: "What is it we're not doing as responsible adults in not teaching gun safety to our children?"

Sonnega said he was disturbed that the community had been rocked by two shootings involving children in about three months. The suspect in a March 25 school shooting, Michael Phelps, waived his right to a jury trial Friday. The victim in that shooting is still recuperating.

Neighbors of the brothers in Thursday's shooting reacted with sadness.

"He (the 6-year-old) was a good kid," neighbor Jessica Purgason said. "He was quiet. He just wanted to play. That's all he was about."

The 11-year-old boy is one of the youngest defendants ever charged with murder in Indiana. In the early 1920s, an 11-year-old was charged with murder and was tried as an adult in Starke County. But he was not convicted.

If Morgan County prosecutors seek to try the boy as an adult in this case, they would have to convince the county's juvenile court judge that there is strong evidence against him, that he can't likely be rehabilitated in the juvenile system, and that waiving him to adult court is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the community.