8-year-old who shot parents said he was spanked too much

[Jenna]

An 8-year-old St. Johns, Ariz., boy charged with double-homicide may have kept a written record of spankings by his parents, vowing that the 1,000th would be his limit, according to a police records released Friday.

A search affidavit by Sgt. Lucas Rodriguez says the child "is believed to have made ledgers and or communicated in the form of writings about his intentions. (The boy) told a CPS. .. worker that when he reached one thousand spankings. .. that would be his limit. (The boy) kept a tally of his spankings on a piece of paper."

In a statement to police a day after the Nov. 5 killings, the boy said he had been spanked the day before the shootings because he did not complete a school assignment.

The juvenile is charged with shooting his father and a family friend, 39-year-old Timothy Romans, at the family's home in St. Johns, about 225 miles northeast of Phoenix

According to the police records, family members were not surprised when told one day after the slayings that the boy had confessed to murder. Police Chief Roy Melnick says in his report, "I comforted them as best we could. After several minutes, (the boy's grandmother) shouted out in an angry and loud tone, 'I knew this would happen. They were too hard on (the boy). I knew (he) did it. He spent the night in my bed cuddling up to me. I had a feeling he did it. If any eight year old boy is capable of doing this, it's (him).'
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Arizona Republic | Child Protective Services | St. Johns | Timothy Romans

"She then started to tell me something and then stopped herself. She took several deep breaths, wanting to tell me more but stopped herself."

Melnick says the grandmother then said the boy's stepmother suspected the child that night. At that point, the child's grandfather added, "If any eight year old was capable of doing this, (the 8-year-old) was." And the grandmother said, "I knew this was going to happen, they were too hard on (him)."

The Arizona Republic is not naming the boy or his family members due to the suspect's age.

Search warrant records are contained in a police report made available by the Apache County Attorney's Office.

The case file contains other revelations, including statements from friends that Romans and the boy's father had been involved in disputes with co-workers at the nearby power plant, and with men at a local bar.

Records indicate the 8-year-old had no history of psychiatric care and was not on any medications. The search warrant affidavit contains the first public disclosure that the child had been in contact with Child Protective Services workers. CPS cases are confidential, and an Apache County Superior Court judge has imposed a gag order, so the timing and context of his statement remains unclear.

The search warrant return does not appear to list any kind of spankings ledger among items recovered from the family residence. It does note that evidence includes a spelling worksheet with blood on it and a white sheet of paper labeled, "Story (boy's first name) the Family."

One day after the killings, the boy gave police a statement which they have characterized as a confession. In it, he provided various explanations for what had happened, finally declaring that he had shot his father and the other man twice each to stop their suffering after they had been wounded by an unknown person.

At the end of the interview, the boy curled into a fetal position and hid his face. When asked what he was thinking, he told investigators, "Going to juvie."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...y_N.htm?csp=34
By Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic

[2 Blue 4 U]

That is one deranged kid, he will definitely be needing some serious psychiatric help and that may not even take the evil out of him.

[Rhino]

Sounds to me like he wasn't spanked enough.

[Pinki]

Sounds to me like he wasn't spanked enough.

+ 1 and it looks like the grandmother was enabling him...

[Willowdared]

You know, for a case with a gag order on it, they sure do seem to be leaking a lot of information.

He's 8 years old, and if there is one thing we should have all learned from the McMartin case, children will make up extraordinary stories in an attempt to give adults whatever it is they think they want.

Whatever really happened, this child has been deprived of his right to an attorney during the initial interview, the continued release of information is depriving him of the chance of a fair trial.

They have yet to mention a single piece of physical evidence.

[keith720]

What a surprise that the press is trying to victimize the boy. I don't care if he's 8. 18 or 80, he killed 2 people and they will stay dead! As usual they can't defend themselves, now, and for the grandmother to say "if any 8-year-old boy is capable of doing this, he was," indicates to me that he was some kind of little monster! I don't know of any 8-year-olds that I suspect are capable of this, and if they were, I'd see that they got some help!

[altonc27]

Let's say that this is true and he was spanked 1000 times. When you look on average how many of us got spanked that much by that age. Hell I only got a couple of beatings in by my parents on hand I can tell you how many times and for what I had done. if this record is of beating are linking psychiatric help in behalf of the boy then what's next....Had anyone heard of Battered Woman's Syndrome...This seems just like that. All it takes is one more and someone dies. An 8-year old is capable of anything you and I can do but we all have a choice and most of which we had used better judgment. To pull the trigger on two people show extreme anger and for an 8-year old boy extreme hatred towards someone. If I had gotten that many spankings IDK if I could say I wouldnt do the same; honestly I cant. I can say I have been grounded more times than my memory can serve at that age but never hit or beat that many times. that's excessive IMO. For the media this is just a circus for them and this boy was interrogated the way he was is wrong. The pd took advantage of his limited knowledge of his rights. This whole trial will be ridiculous. Jus like the other boy that accidentally killed that girl while they were wrestling a few years back and sentenced to life without parole. Yes this shooting was no accident but the way our judicial system is forming to be some things just have to have its limits.....In no way am I gonna defend this child because he couldve easily gotten help but in how many cases when a child is abused are afraid to speak up becuase their parents threaten them to say something to authorities. I grew up in an area where kids were abused beyond mention and you can see the hurt and pain but they were afraid to speak up. This 8-year old IMO had enough.......