A 10-year-old Texas boy confessed to shooting and killing a man as he slept two years ago, according to the Gonzalez County Sheriff's Office.
Brandon O'Quinn Raspberry, 32, was found dead in his RV on January 18, 2022, at the Lazy J RV Park in Nixon, Texas, about 90 miles east of San Antonio. The sheriff's office announced this week in a news release. An autopsy determined Raspberry had been shot once in the head and the cause of death was determined to be a homicide.
This was announced by the Gonzalez County Sheriff's Office. The day before, the principal of the Nixon-Smiley Independent School District had called to report a 10-year-old boy who had allegedly threatened to “assault and kill another student on the bus.” I became aware of it on April 12th.
“Deputies were dispatched to the school to receive a report and complete an investigation,” the sheriff's office said in a news release. “When deputies arrived, they spoke with school officials who informed them that the child had allegedly shot and killed a man two years earlier.”
The boy was taken to a child advocacy center where he was interviewed and provided first-hand knowledge of the Raspberry murder. The suspect told investigators that Lazy J was visiting his grandfather at his RV park on January 16, 2022, when he retrieved a 9mm pistol from the glove compartment of his grandfather's truck, got into Raspberry's RV, and was asleep. He said he shot his grandfather in the head. According to the sheriff's office. He also said he fired the pistol a second time into the couch inside Raspberry's RV before leaving.
“When asked, the child stated that he had never met Brandon and that he had seen Brandon walking around the RV earlier in the day, but did not know who he was,” the sheriff's office said. said. “The child was also asked if he was angry at Brandon for any reason or if Brandon had ever done anything to make Brandon angry, and the child answered no.”
Investigators found the murder weapon The child said he was killing raspberries at a pawn shop in Seguin, Texas. Forensic analysis of two spent shell casings recovered from the crime scene determined that this weapon was used to kill Raspberry, the sheriff's office said.
According to the sheriff's office, no murder charges will be filed against the child because Texas law states that a child cannot be held criminally responsible until the child reaches the age of 10. At the time of the incident, the child was 7 years old and one week away from his 8th birthday.
He was placed in emergency custody for 72 hours and transported to a San Antonio psychiatric hospital for evaluation and treatment. The boy was then taken to the Gonzalez County Sheriff's Office and arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threats in connection with the school bus incident.
He is being held in Gonzalez County awaiting a court appearance. It is unclear at this time whether the child has a lawyer.
NBC News has contacted the sheriff's office for additional information.