SC 13-year-old facing murder said he’s ‘going to jail tonight’ before killing: Prosecutor
A 13-year-old South Carolina boy who could be prosecuted as an adult in the killing of his sister’s 16-year-old boyfriend in Chester County told others he was “going to jail tonight” before stabbing the victim, prosecutors said.
The teen has a “record rife with violent tendencies” that continued through school years: fighting, bullying younger students and verbally abusing teachers and administrators, 6th Circuit Senior Assistant Solicitor Ashley McMahan told Family Court Judge Coreen Khoury during a hearing Wednesday in Chester.
The teen’s lawyer, 6th Circuit Public Defender William Frick, told Judge Khoury the boy has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but has not received treatment or medication.
The Herald was the only media outlet at Wednesday’s court hearing. Neither the 13-year-old nor the victim are being named by The Herald because of their ages.
McMahan itemized the 13-year-old’s problems over the years, which she said included taking a knife and box cutter to school at age 6, swinging a bookbag at a teacher, testing positive for drugs, and outbursts. He has not been in school in Chester County since class resumed after winter break, officials said.
“A couple times they asked him why he was punching and hitting people and he said ‘Just because I wanted to,’” McMahan said.
Wednesday’s hearing to determine whether he stayed jailed pending trial was required under juvenile court rules that give detained children several chances to seek release as the case moves forward.
Khoury ruled the teen should remain jailed pending trial, “because I am concerned about his safety and the safety of the community.” A different judge ordered him to remained detained last week.
The attack
The 13-year-old and the victim were in a car with two others Feb. 11 after a basketball game when he allegedly stabbed the victim in the neck. The 13-year-old was playing with the knife and allegedly boasted beforehand that he was going to have the victim jumped that night, McMahan said.
The victim was in the front passenger seat when the 13-year-old allegedly stabbed him, causing massive bleeding. The 16-year-old died later that night at a hospital.
The 13-year-old sat in court Wednesday next to his court-appointed lawyer wearing a sweatshirt and long pants, shackled at the wrists and ankles. He did not address the court. Several members of his family sat a few rows behind him but did not speak to the judge.
On the other side of the courtroom, the 16-year-old’s parents sat silently as McMahan described how their son died. They also did not speak in court.
Arrest and attempt to try as an adult
Chester County deputies detained the 13-year-old after the stabbing and charged him with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime the next day. He was sent to the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice, where he remains in custody.
Then on Feb. 13, prosecutors filed paperwork attempting to prosecute him as an adult rather than as a juvenile.
The consequences in adult court are potentially far more severe. In adult court, punishment could be 30 years in prison if convicted of murder. A conviction and sentence in South Carolina Family Court ends at age 22 for any crime.
That decision whether to try the teen as an adult will be made later by a Family Court judge after an evaluation by state officials. After the evaluation, prosecutors would have to hold a “waiver hearing” in court, and tell a judge why the teen should face an adult trial. He and his lawyers have the legal right to challenge any attempt to prosecute him as an adult.
Prosecutors — including Chester County’s top prosecutor Randy Newman — and DJJ officials recommended he stay in custody until there is a trial.
Defense asks for treatment
Frick said the 13-year-old could live with his father in York County if released before trial and wear a GPS monitor to school. He could also receive treatment for bipolar disorder while the case is pending, Frick said.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes dramatic shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to think clearly, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Frick said his client would agree to “whatever conditions you (the judge) deem appropriate to make the community safe.”
A required mental evaluation for a teen who prosecutors want to try as an adult can take a year or more, Frick added.
“He is going to be sitting in DJJ for over a year not getting treatment,” Frick said.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
