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Girl, 14, suspect in stabbing of cousin, 4

INDIANAPOLIS, May 7 (UPI) -- A 14-year-old Indianapolis girl faces charges in the stabbing death of her 4-year-old cousin, authorities said Sunday.

Leon Thomas III apparently was stabbed multiple times in his grandparents' apartment about 11 p.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead at an area hospital, The Indianapolis Star reported.

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The teenage suspect was taken into custody a short time later when she was spotted walking along a street several blocks away. A police report said she was "covered in blood," the Star said.

She was being held on a murder charge in the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center. If tried and convicted as an adult, she could face 45-65 years in prison.

Police have not said what they think may have led to the stabbing, the newspaper said.

Investigators said the boy and his 11-year-old sister were visiting their grandparents' home when he was stabbed. The grandparents, Bryan and Angie Shanks, were upstairs when the attack occurred on the first floor.

The newspaper said Angie Shanks was listed as the suspect's court-appointed guardian in a police report from an earlier incident in which the girl was reported to have run away from home.

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