12-year-old Boy Found Guilty of Murdering Mother, He Had Been Abused by Her

A 12-year-old boy has been found guilty in the United States of murdering his mother.

He was apparently retaliating to years of consistent physical and verbal abuse.

The boy, from the city of Douglas in Cochise County, Arizona was found guilty of premeditated murder.

The police said that the boy told them his mother yelled at him and slapped him.

Though the judge seemed to accept the defence of desperate retaliation, he was still not willing to accept it as an extenuating factor. 
He held  prosecutors had proved the boy acted intentionally when he shot his mother, Sara Madrid, eight times last year.
Only the judge ruled the case should remain in juvenile court after a psychologist and psychiatrist testified that he suffered physical and verbal abuse from his mother and could be rehabilitated in the juvenile justice system. 

The hearing took place in Cochise County Superior Court in the southern Arizona town of Bisbee.

According to prosecutors, the shooting happened after the boy had argued with his mother over chores.

He got a pistol from a bedroom cupboard and shot Sara Madrid repeatedly.

Her live-in boyfriend of 10 years, Alfonso Munoz, saw what happened and he says the boy gave him the empty gun afterwards.

Mr Munoz, who helped raise the boy, said he had taught him how to use the weapon for emergencies and self-defence.

He is due to be sentenced on 23 January. Under Arizona law, the boy can be held only until he turns 18 years of age.

Source-Medindia
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