BENSALEM, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A 17-year-old charged with shooting and killing a girl in his home in Bensalem broke down in tears during his preliminary hearing and asked his lawyer to waive the hearing.
The shooting happened Nov. 15 in a home in the Ridge Trailer Park on Gibson Road. Due to his status as a minor, KYW Newsradio is declining to name the defendant, who was 16 at the time of the shooting. He turned 17 in January.
According to charging documents, Bensalem police were initially sent to the home after a parent called 911. She said the defendant had contacted her teenage daughter via Instagram to say he had killed someone, showing an image of part of the victim, and to ask for help getting rid of the body.
The defendant stopped his hearing during testimony of the second witness, a Bensalem police detective, who had found the defendant hiding in the woods. The defendant’s lawyer, Paul Lang, asked the judge for a break, saying his client wasn’t feeling well.
Before his testimony was cut short, the detective said he heard the teen say “it was an accident,” adding he “was going to jail for the rest of his life” and “his dad was going to kill him.”
After about 20 minutes, Lang returned to the courtroom and told the judge his client had decided to waive his right to a preliminary hearing, letting the case proceed to county court.
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Lang says his client was overtaken with emotion over the death of his best friend.
“As clearly evident in the courtroom today, he is tremendously emotional and broke down, was crying, midway through some of the cross examination and direct testimony,” Lang said.
“We're going to be exploring all of our options, as well as seeking to return this case where it should appropriately be: the juvenile justice system.”
He is charged as an adult with criminal homicide. Prosecutors have not specified if they will pursue charges of murder or manslaughter.