Cold Blooded Eight-Year-Old Killer?

There is a predictable reaction to the announcement on 05 November, 2008 by St. Johns Arizona Police Chief Roy Melnick that an eight‑year‑old boy had murdered two men. And, the reaction is over the incredulity of the idea that an eight‑year‑old boy could be a murderer of two adult males. Behind the incredulity though, is the acceptance that the police are reporting things accurately.

We know that two men, Timothy Romans aged 39 and Vincent Romero aged 29, were found dead of wounds from a firearm. Romero was the father of the boy now charged with the murders. Romans rented a room from Romero. Some news outlets have claimed that Romans was a roommate, but that is false.

So, the usual coterie of experts who speak about children who are murderers paraded the stage. Chief Melnick initially claimed that sexual abuse was the likely cause, but then had to retreat when not even a snippet of the allegation could be justified. That doesn’t stop the experts on the public stage from suggesting the same.

Facts, such as they are, are few since Judge Michael Roca of the Apache County Superior Court imposed a gag on the attorneys and law enforcement people.

What has been released is that the boy was interrogated for forty‑five minutes before he confessed. I don’t know whether the session was recorded. The child had no adult present to represent him. He was not mirandized.

The weapon police claim was used is a 22‑caliber rifle. The size has not been released. Each adult was shot four times. Melnick claims that the boy “methodically” reloaded the rifle as he murdered the men. Does this mean that the rifle was a single shot? Also missing, is information about whether the rifle was a youth or an adult rifle.

The body of the father was found in the home, the other body was on the front porch.

The child has been charged with the crimes, however, the burden of proof is very low at that stage. Plus the judge has to rely on police reports that have not been tried.

People are looking and guessing at what might have triggered a crime like this. The boy had lived with his father for the last four years and acquaintances said that the two were very close. The murdered roomer has been described as a good father of his two daughters. A possibility of a trigger would the recent remarriage of his father. But, then the expected victim would be the stepmother.

The police chief has also claimed that the killings were premeditated. Some adults will commit crimes are the result of resentments or one‑track thinking. The thinking that leads to the crime has developed so the perpetrator is incapable of considering alternatives. Can an eight‑year‑old have this mode of thinking? If so, would the personality change be overlooked by school and family?

The gag order will protect the police from further scrutiny for a while. But, there is still enough for interested parties to consider.

I suggest ignoring things like motives and triggers. I have these questions.

Was the rifle that was used junior size or adult size? Was it a 22 long or short? Has it been shown to be the murder weapon? Is it the claim that the eight‑year‑old reloaded the rifle after each shot? Could an eight‑year‑old incapacitate each adult with the first shot?

The confession information is questionable. Chief Melnick said that the child confessed after forty‑five minutes into an hour long interrogation. Was the last fifteen minutes used to insure the child had the official story? Why did it take so long? After all, police can often extract false confessions from adults. Was the interrogation recorded? What did the child say at the beginning? Recall that not too far away, in Salt Lake City, police ignored the witness account of Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapping. Smart’s sister described the kidnapper, but it didn’t fit the police presumption and delayed the recovery. Instead, the Salt Lake City police killed Richard Ricci.