Two adopted Utah brothers, 4 and 10, found dead; oldest brother, 15, arrested
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Two adopted
Utah brothers, 4 and 10, found dead; oldest brother, 15,
arrested
By Michael Martinez, CNN
updated 7:47 PM EDT, Thu May 23, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Two slain brothers are adopted, sheriff says
NEW: 15-year-old brother -- eldest of six children -- is a
natural child of the family
NEW: He once ran away from home, and family apparently got
help from church leader
NEW: Boy has spoken "pretty bluntly" with investigators, but
sheriff isn't stating motive
(CNN) -- A 15-year-old Utah boy was arrested in connection with
the slayings of his two younger adopted brothers, ages 4 and 10,
who were apparently stabbed to death in their home, authorities
said Thursday.
The oldest brother -- the eldest of six children -- was a natural
child of the family and was baby-sitting his two younger siblings
while the mother was out of the home with the other children,
Sheriff Todd Richardson told reporters Thursday. The father, who's
in the military, was in Alabama.
The mother called 911 Wednesday evening after finding her
4-year-old son dead in the home in West Point, Utah. Police then
found the 10-year-old son dead in the lower part of the house, but
they weren't sure whether the oldest child was a victim or a
suspect, Richardson said.
Hours later, near midnight, police found the oldest brother miles
away walking with blood stains on the street. The boy spoke
"pretty bluntly" with investigators, who are trying to determine a
motive, the sheriff said. He wasn't carrying any weapons, though
police have found two weapons believed to have been used in the
slayings, Richardson said.
The 15-year-old boy is facing two homicide charges, the sheriff
said.
"He had been interviewed by one of our detectives, and there has
been things that have been brought forth that is part of an active
investigation, and as time goes on, it will be released as to why
he did what he did," Richardson said.
"I don't want to speculate what was going through his mind, but he
is a natural child of the family and the two children who were
victims in this were both adopted," the sheriff added.
The 15-year-old boy once ran away from home, and in that incident,
the family apparently received assistance from a church leader,
the sheriff added.
"On that one prior time, he did a runaway, and we located him, so
we don't have a longstanding history file on him," Richardson
said.
The family "did an intervention through their ecclesiastic
leadership, and as far as anything through law enforcement or the
state, it's my understanding that they didn't" do any more,
Richardson said.
Prosecutors have yet to file charges or decide whether to charge
the youth as an adult, said Sgt. Susan Poulsen with Davis County
Sheriff's Office.
The boy's name wasn't being released because he is a juvenile,
authorities said.
The father, believed to be in the Air Force, was returning home,
Richardson said.
During the initial search of the family home, deputies found the
body of the 10-year-old boy, who like his younger brother, had
"traumatic injuries," the sheriff's office said.
"Obviously the mother is very distraught," Richardson said.
Just before midnight Wednesday, investigators from several
jurisdictions found the oldest son in the Layton area, about eight
miles from West Point, and he was taken to the hospital for the
evaluation of minor injuries, authorities said. He is being held
in Farmington Bay Youth Detention Center.
"We believe the suspect acted alone, and no other suspects are at
large," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Both boys' "manner of death appears to be consistent with
penetrating knife wounds," the sheriff's office said. The medical
examiner's office has yet to determine the cause of death.
The sheriff couldn't detail the wounds Thursday.
"I've been in this job for a long time, so the things that look
like defensive wounds turn out not to be," said Richardson, who
has worked in law enforcement and as a paramedic for more than 25
years.
CNN's Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report.