Apotheosis
05-31-2005, 07:22 PM
this makes michigan look better, but not by much
9-year-old accused of slaying playmate with steak knife in Brooklyn
By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer
May 31, 2005, 7:03 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- It began as child's play: a tug of war between two young girls over a rubber ball at a Memorial Day gathering in Brooklyn.
But when one of the girls reached for a steak knife, the holiday turned to tragedy.
The 9-year-old _ a skinny fourth-grader identified by the city only as Shanice K. to protect her identity _ was in custody on Tuesday, accused of stabbing her playmate to death. A Family Court judge ordered her detained until a hearing on Thursday, when she's expected to be charged with manslaughter.
At a brief hearing, Shanice at first gazed around impassively. But her eyes welled up with tears as her mother hugged her and began weeping uncontrollably, saying, "Oh, my baby."
The mother left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. Defense attorney Nicole Barnum declined to discuss the specifics of the case, calling it "a tragedy for both families."
Police alleged Shanice confessed shortly after the stabbing. They also said they could not remember a younger suspect being arrested for a killing in the city.
The girl and the victim, Queen Washington, 11, were described as close friends.
Queen's grieving family members told reporters gathered outside her home on Monday that the fifth-grader was a straight-A student who loved books, dancing and playing double Dutch jump rope.
She was the "star of the family," said her grandfather, Earl Washington. "She was going places."
Relatives said the girls' mothers were best friends and Queen had been invited to Shanice's home in the East New York section for a Memorial Day barbecue. The girls were playing together when Shanice's mother stepped out of her apartment to borrow something from a neighbor, police said.
By the time the mother returned, her daughter had plunged the steak knife into Queen's chest, police said. Queen stumbled into the hallway and collapsed. A series of panicked 911 calls followed.
Joyce Porter, Queen's grandmother, said the girl's mother had called her to tell her what had happened.
"She told me, `Queen is dead,"' Porter said. "It was over a ball."
A friend of Shanice's family who was at court on Tuesday to support the mother denied reports that the girl had a troubled past.
"She has no history of violence," said the woman, who gave her name as Shirley.
In 2001, Lionel Tate, 14, became the youngest person in modern U.S. history to be sentenced to life in prison, after being convicted of killing 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in Florida. He was 12 at the time of the killing in 1999.
He won a new trial on appeal and went free in January 2004 under a deal that placed him under house arrest for a year followed by probation for 10 years. Now 18, he was arrested May 23 on charges of holding up a pizza delivery man at gunpoint.
9-year-old accused of slaying playmate with steak knife in Brooklyn
By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer
May 31, 2005, 7:03 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- It began as child's play: a tug of war between two young girls over a rubber ball at a Memorial Day gathering in Brooklyn.
But when one of the girls reached for a steak knife, the holiday turned to tragedy.
The 9-year-old _ a skinny fourth-grader identified by the city only as Shanice K. to protect her identity _ was in custody on Tuesday, accused of stabbing her playmate to death. A Family Court judge ordered her detained until a hearing on Thursday, when she's expected to be charged with manslaughter.
At a brief hearing, Shanice at first gazed around impassively. But her eyes welled up with tears as her mother hugged her and began weeping uncontrollably, saying, "Oh, my baby."
The mother left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. Defense attorney Nicole Barnum declined to discuss the specifics of the case, calling it "a tragedy for both families."
Police alleged Shanice confessed shortly after the stabbing. They also said they could not remember a younger suspect being arrested for a killing in the city.
The girl and the victim, Queen Washington, 11, were described as close friends.
Queen's grieving family members told reporters gathered outside her home on Monday that the fifth-grader was a straight-A student who loved books, dancing and playing double Dutch jump rope.
She was the "star of the family," said her grandfather, Earl Washington. "She was going places."
Relatives said the girls' mothers were best friends and Queen had been invited to Shanice's home in the East New York section for a Memorial Day barbecue. The girls were playing together when Shanice's mother stepped out of her apartment to borrow something from a neighbor, police said.
By the time the mother returned, her daughter had plunged the steak knife into Queen's chest, police said. Queen stumbled into the hallway and collapsed. A series of panicked 911 calls followed.
Joyce Porter, Queen's grandmother, said the girl's mother had called her to tell her what had happened.
"She told me, `Queen is dead,"' Porter said. "It was over a ball."
A friend of Shanice's family who was at court on Tuesday to support the mother denied reports that the girl had a troubled past.
"She has no history of violence," said the woman, who gave her name as Shirley.
In 2001, Lionel Tate, 14, became the youngest person in modern U.S. history to be sentenced to life in prison, after being convicted of killing 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick in Florida. He was 12 at the time of the killing in 1999.
He won a new trial on appeal and went free in January 2004 under a deal that placed him under house arrest for a year followed by probation for 10 years. Now 18, he was arrested May 23 on charges of holding up a pizza delivery man at gunpoint.