TUSCUMBIA, Mo., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old boy who admitted killing his mother and stepfather will face juvenile detention rather than be tried as an adult, a Missouri judge ruled.
Austin Pinion -- who could have been tried as an adult for first-degree murder in the July 6 shooting death of Rachel and Jaeson Duncan in Kaiser, Mo. -- will be best served by juvenile court followed by therapy and possible rehabilitation through the state Division of Children's Services, Miller County Circuit Judge Kenneth Hayden ruled.
"The juvenile in this case is not mature for his years. He is an immature sixth grader," the Lake Sun of Camdenton, Mo., quoted Hayden as saying.
Children in Missouri as young as 12 can be charged as adults in first-degree murder cases.
"I sincerely believe that you can be rehabilitated," Hayden told Pinion, who was 12 when he shot his mother and stepfather in their mobile home with a .22 caliber revolver. "But there is no promise or guarantee of that.
"You've got a long road ahead of you, but you've got to go into it with an attitude of wanting help," he said to Pinion, whose lawyer offered no motive for the shootings.
The boy, who had allegedly been sexually abused, could remain in juvenile detention until his 18th birthday, the newspaper said. The court could also keep him there until he turns 21.
