MIDDLEBURG, Fla. – Parricide is a criminal offense we don’t typically hear about.
On Monday morning, David Lee, 44, and his spouse, Brandi Smith, 45, were found shot to death inside their home in Middleburg. Clay County investigators recognized the couple’s son as their killer. He was recognized as Trevor Lee, 14.
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Detectives mentioned the teenager walked to a close-by church, known as 911, and waited for deputies to arrest him. Lee was taken to the regional juvenile detention middle in Jacksonville, the place he stays on two counts of homicide.
The crimes the 14-year-old is accused of are known as parricides, which happen when a toddler kills a guardian.
When information broke Monday morning a few child accused of killing his guardian, neighbors residing within the Silver Oak subdivision alongside Silver Level have been left shocked.
“For it to get to that time, to the place he felt prefer it was the one possibility he had, was the saddest factor you could possibly probably consider,” mentioned neighbor Seth Myers.
News4JAX consulted with Dr. Justin D’Arienzo, a forensic psychologist who makes a speciality of evaluating minors who’ve been implicated in heinous crimes.
He mentioned a number of causes and elements might doubtlessly contribute to a toddler trying to kill their mother and father.
“Children who’re experiencing despair, or important anxiousness, or different psychological well being issues, or children who could also be hooked on medicine, or have a neuro-cognitive developmental dysfunction, have an amazing probability of doing one thing like this, but it surely’s very uncommon,” mentioned Dr. D’Arienzo.
Dr. D’Arienzo was requested concerning the teen calling 911 from a church and ready for deputies to reach to take him into custody.
Information from the Parricide Prevention Institute echoes Dr. D’Arienzo’s feedback. In response to the institute, parricide is so uncommon that solely 2% of all US murders since 2010 have been recognized as parricide instances. Information additionally exhibits that in 65% of the instances, the youngsters who killed their mother and father weren’t abused.
Presently, the 14-year-old shouldn’t be being charged as an grownup.
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