Fifth-graders murder trial: Plot to Kill Girl

Fifth-graders murder trial: Murder plot with knife and .45-caliber semiautomatic

Fifth-graders murder trial, A 5th graders murder case trial to take place soon and the two fifth-graders, a ten-year-old and 11-year-old boy are accused in the case of having planned to rape and kill a girl and eliminate six other classmates if they got in the way, will be tried as juveniles. During an arraignment hearing on Friday in which the two fifth-graders pleaded not guilty, a judge determined that both fifth graders “will stand trial as juveniles,” reported Reuters on March 29, 2013.

On Feb. 7, 2013, the two fifth-graders allegedly devised a murder plot to kill a girl and several classmates by using a knife with a 3¼-inch blade and a .45-caliber Remington 1911 semiautomatic handgun.

The knife, the semiautomatic handgun, and an additional ammunition clip were found shortly before 8 a.m. in the backpack of the 10-year-old student after another fourth-grade student told a teacher about having seen a fifth-grader with a knife.

“When questioned separately shortly after the weapons were discovered, the boys admitted their plot, authorities said. ‘I was going to kill her with the knife and [the other boy] was supposed to use the gun to keep anyone from trying to stop me or mess up our plan,’ the older boy told detectives. When shown a class list, the boy identified six other classmates who were targeted.”

Both fifth-grade students were attending Fort Colville Elementary School in eastern Washington, about 215 miles east of Seattle, and have since been suspended from school.

After the news about the two fifth-graders murder plot became public in February, it was unclear on how a judge would approach the case.

In Washington State, children under the age of eight are considered incapable of committing criminal acts and that children between the ages of eight and 12 are similarly considered incapable of committing a criminal act but that a court hearing would determine whether children at that age are capable of committing a crime.

On Friday, Stevens County Superior Court Judge Allen Nielson determined during the hearing that the boys had the capacity to understand right and wrong and that they can stand trial despite their age.

The 10-year-old suspect was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, juvenile firearm possession, and witness tampering. The 11-year-old was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, possession of a dangerous weapon at school, and tampering with a witness.

If the two fifth-graders will be found guilty of all charges, they could be facing sentences from “103 to 127 weeks” which are about two to three years.

Stevens County prosecuting attorney Timothy Rasmussen commented in regard to the fifth-graders murder trial and the actions of the two boys that "This was a plan. And it was a plan to kill."