An 11-year-old boy is facing murder charges after he confessed to fatally shooting an 82-year-old relative who had once served as mayor of a small Louisiana city and the man’s adult daughter over the weekend, the police said on Tuesday.
The elder victim, Joe Cornelius Sr., a city councilman who also briefly served as mayor of Minden, a city about 25 miles east of Shreveport, was found shot to death on Sunday at his home, along with his daughter, Keisha Miles, 31.
The boy has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, Chief Jared McIver of the Minden Police Department said at a news conference on Tuesday. The police chief did not release the boy’s name, nor did he disclose the exact nature of his relationship to the victims, citing the boy’s age. But he did confirm that the boy was related to the victims.
The police believe that the boy acted alone and that he used two firearms that were recovered at the scene, Chief McIver said. He said that the investigation was continuing and that the police did not yet know the motive for the deadly attack.
“Who knows why someone would do something this malicious — and at that age,” Chief McIver said. “We are putting everything together and hopefully very soon we will have all the answers — more answers — as to the ‘why.’”
A spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office that serves Webster Parish said it was not yet clear if the boy would be prosecuted as an adult. It is unclear if the boy is currently represented by a lawyer. The local Public Defender’s Office said it did not yet know whether the boy would be represented by that office.
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