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Last updated on Thursday, May 10, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Prosecutors have asked that a 14-year-old girl accused of fatally stabbing her 4-year-old cousin be tried as an adult.
The girl was arrested Sunday after Leon Thomas III was found stabbed multiple times in his grandparents' home at the Beechwood Gardens Apartments in the 2700 block of North Graham Avenue.
The 14-year-old was found walking nearby, covered in blood, police said. She was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder.
At a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors asked that the girl be waived to adult court.
"Essentially, it's pretty much undisputed at this point that she is at least 10 years old. We've charged her with murder, and there's probable cause to believe she committed that offense," said deputy prosecutor Peter Haughn.
The suspect's attorney, Robert Newell, said that his client may not be fully aware of the severity of the alleged offense.
"She comprehends that she's been charged with this very serious offense. But I don't know if that comprehension goes any further than an awareness that she's been given that charge. I'm not sure if her comprehension goes any deeper than that," Newell said. "A 14 year old child is a child, and by default, should be tried in the juvenile system, unless it is clear beyond all reason and rationality that that's not the apprpriate setting for it."
Indiana law allows children as young as 10 years old to be waived to adult court on murder charges.
No details of the crime were released. The judge ordered the probable cause affidavit to remain sealed.
The girl will be in court again June 6.
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