CRIME isn't exactly child's play, but that hasn't stopped children and teens from committing horrific acts – including murder.
Earlier this month, 10-year-old Hunter Meyers was allegedly stabbed to death by his friend, 13-year-old James Campbell, during a sleepover at James' grandmother's home in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
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James Campbell is still years away from traditional teenage milestones like getting a driver's license and going to prom, but his future is up in the air after a horrific tragedy.
James is being charged – as an adult – with criminal homicide and first-degree murder after he allegedly admitted to police that he stabbed Hunter in the head multiple times.
Police reported that the teen had blood on his pants and feet at the scene of the crime, along with multiple lacerations on his hand.
Hunter was reportedly sleeping during the brutal attack.
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Hunter's mother, Dorothy, confirmed the news in an emotional Facebook post one day after her son died.
“Please feel free to share his pictures. My sons [sic] beautiful face needs to be out there," she wrote, alongside several photos of a smiling Hunter.
"James was my son's cousin and my nephew. No there is no blood relation," Dorothy Meyers wrote in a separate post.
"But it doesn't take blood to be a family. Hunter and James were cousins and best friends," she added.
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No reason or motive has been shared for the act, though Dorothy did request that her son's alleged killer be shown "compassion."
"As Hunter's mother I am asking for compassion for James," Dorothy Meyers posted.
Hunter Meyers, 10, stabbed to death as 13-year-old boy charged with murder after being found with blood on his hands
"He has already confessed and is being charged as an adult and yes I am pushing for that," she said, confirming that James allegedly confessed to the crime.
"He brutally murdered my son, his cousin and best friend. My son was asleep and never had a chance to react or be scared. That's what I am clinging to right now," she wrote.
Dorothy also stressed that her son "had stayed at his grandma's with his best friend a million times," with no cause for concern.
James is currently being held without bond until his next court appearance.
Remembering Hunter William Scott Meyers
Hunter William Scott Meyers was born on August 23, 2013.
Just a few days shy of his 11th birthday, he was brutally killed – allegedly by his friend and "cousin," James "JJ" Campbell, on August 1, 2024.
According to his obituary, his family and friends described him as "a bright and intelligent boy."
Hunter wanted to be "a diesel mechanic and a police officer" when he grew up.
He enjoyed fishing with his dad and uncle, cuddling with his mom, spending time with his siblings, and hanging out with his animals.
Hunter "was kind, caring, smart, strong-willed, charismatic, and brave."
At school, he excelled at math, which also happened to be his favorite subject.
He loved the color blue, going swimming, and playing video games.
He enjoyed going to parks, lakes, and spending time outdoors.
Hunter was also an animal lover, and "cared about every animal he came across, naming each one 'Pizza' and 'Mac and Cheese.'"
His favorite places to visit were the Pittsburgh Zoo, the Carnegie Science Center, and Donegal Lake.
He "loved to have random Nerf gun wars" and play with his friends, cousins, and siblings.
"Hunter was loved by his family and friends and will forever be missed."
Still, he is not the first teenager to allegedly commit murder, and won't be the last.
From school shooters to friends-turned-foes, read on for more murders committed by minors.
These minors have proven again and again that despite their youth, there's nothing juvenile about their crimes, which include strangulation, stabbing, and shooting.
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AIDEN FUCCI
On Mother's Day, May 9, 2021, 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey was reported missing by her family.
Police found Tristyn's body a few hours later, noting that she had been brutally and repeatedly stabbed and slashed.
Tristyn's friend, 14-year-old Aiden Fucci, was arrested in connection to her death.
He was initially charged with second-degree murder, but his charges were later upgraded to first-degree murder, premeditated, due to the crime's brutality.
Tristyn and Aiden both lived in the Durbin Crossing neighborhood in northwestSt. Johns County, Florida.
They even went to the same school, Patriot Oaks Academy, where Tristyn was also a cheerleader.
Aiden's girlfriend and friends later told police that he often talked about killing people.
He even went as far as planning a potential murder scenario involving him dragging someone into the woods and stabbing them.
On the night of Tristyn's death, Aiden asked a friend for Tristyn's number and managed to convince her to leave her home and meet at a friend's house.
Video footage from a nearby residence shows two individuals, believed to be Tristyn and Aiden, walking towards an area where her body was later found.
Less than two hours later, the same video showed Aiden heading back from the wooded area, alone, carrying his shoes in his hands.
An autopsy later revealed Tristyn had "114 stab or cutting wounds about her head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and back," according to a warrant affidavit shared by the State Attorney, R.J. Larizza.
Larizza also stated that "at least" 49 of those wounds "were defensive in nature," meaning Tristyn had attempted to fight for her life.
Along with security footage and DNA evidence, the murder weapon – a buck knife with a missing tip that belonged to Aiden – was found near Tristyn's body, with fragments lodged in her scalp.
When police searched Aiden's home, they discovered wet shoes, bloodstained clothes, and blood and dirt surrounding his bathroom sink's drain.
In February 2023, just days before his trial's jury selection was scheduled to begin, he changed his plea to guilty.
Judge R. Lee Smith sentenced Aiden to life in prison.
He is currently serving his life sentence in the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak, the midway point between Tallahassee and Jacksonville.
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BARRY LOUKAITIS
Shootings continue to plague schools across the US, occurring in K-12 institutions and college campuses alike.
In 1996, several years before the Columbine High School massacre, a school shooting took place in Moses Lake, Washington.
On February 2, 14-year-old Barry Dale Loukaitis walked from his house to his school, Frontier Middle School.
Dressed as a Wild West-style gunslinger, he covered his outfit, a hunting rifle, and two handguns underneath a black duster jacket.
Upon entering his fifth-period algebra classroom, Barry opened fire.
He killed two students, Arnold Fritz, 14, and Manuel Vela Jr., also 14, before wounding 13-year-old Natalie Hintz with gunshot wounds to her stomach and right arm.
Natalie was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center and managed to survive the attack.
Barry then shot and killed his algebra teacher, Leona Caires, in her chest.
Jon Lane, another teacher at the school, entered the classroom to find Loukaitis holding the remaining students hostage.
Lane not only volunteered to take the students' place as a hostage but also managed to grab Loukaitis' weapons and wrestle him to the ground.
During his trial, prosecution witness Dr. Alan Unis, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, diagnosed Barry with dysthymic disorder.
The mental and behavioral disorder is similar to major depressive disorder but with longer-lasting symptoms.
Barry's defense team argued that he had been suffering from clinical depression, which ran in his family for generations.
Barry also suffered from hyperactivity and was taking Ritalin during the time of the shooting.
His home life was also dysfunctional, with his parents separating a year before the shooting, and his mother frequently dealing with suicidal thoughts.
Barry also told jurors that he had only intended to kill Manuel Vela, and all other deaths were accidental.
On September 24, 1997, jurors rejected Barry's insanity defense, and instead convicted him on:
- Two counts of first-degree murder
- One count of second-degree murder
- One count of first-degree attempted murder
- 16 counts of aggravated kidnapping
In 2012, the US Supreme Court ruled that people convicted of murder could not receive automatic life terms without parole if they committed the act under the age of 18.
In 2016, the court also ruled that the policy was to be applied retroactively.
A year later, Barry was heard for a re-sentencing, and resentenced to 189 years in prison, as reported by the Seattle Times.
“I am sorry for what I did," Barry said, publicly apologizing for the first time since the shooting.
“What I did was weak and evil and senseless," he continued, adding, "I didn’t have the skills I needed to learn to be a man.
“It was never my intention to kill everyone in the classroom,” he added.
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ERIC SMITH
On August 2, 1993, Eric Smith, then 13 years old, sexually abused and murdered four-year-old Derrick Robie in Steuben County, New York.
Eric was riding his bike to a local summer day camp when he saw Robie walking alone to that same camp.
"It's the first time I ever let [Derrick] go anywhere alone," Derrick's mother, Doreen Robie, told CBS News' 48 Hours.
"And it was one block down, same side of the street...he gave me a kiss and I said, 'I love you,'" she continued.
"He said, 'I love you, Mom.' And he went hopping off the sidewalk,'" she tearfully recalled.
Hours after reporting her son missing – counselors had contacted Doreen letting her know about her son's absence – police found his body just a few yards away from the park, in a wooded area.
On August 8, Eric confessed to the crime, telling his mother he was responsible for Derrick's death.
Eric had lured Derrick into the woods before strangling him until he passed out.
He then dropped a large rock on his head, and sodomized him with a stick.
Eric then took Kool-Aid from Derrick's lunch box and, in a devastating final blow, poured it into his open wounds.
Eric was arrested and tried as an adult, becoming the youngest murder defendant tried as an adult in New York.
On August 16, 1994, he was convicted of second-degree murder, and later sentenced to the maximum term allowed for juvenile offenders at the time, nine years to life in prison.
After serving 27 years in prison, Eric, then 42 years old, was granted parole in October 2021.
He was released from prison on February 1, 2022, and reportedly moved to Queens, New York.
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"I don't let him take space in my head," Doreen said.
"I do not focus on where he is, what he's doing… 'cause I don't care. As long as he's not near friends and family."
