Boy accused in tot's death was on suicide watch

[flashl]

Source: Miami Herald

The 12-year-old accused of killing his 17-month-old cousin while he baby-sat her during the holiday break wanted to kill himself, police say.

In his initial hours of custody, police placed the 12-year-old boy accused of fatally beating his toddler cousin with a baseball bat under suicide watch, according to police reports released Wednesday.

Lauderhill police said the boy made "suicidal statements" to his mother, Guerla Joseph, and should "be watched extremely closely," according to the report.

At the police station on Saturday -- the day after the attack -- the boy was placed in a holding cell and handcuffed to a bench. ...

The boy, who has not been identified because of his age, remains at the Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center and is no longer under suicide watch, according to his attorney, assistant public defender Gordon Weekes.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/373535.html

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A sad story. If the 12-year-old was suicidal before the incident, it is odd to me, that he is not treated as suicidal now.

[DesertFlower]

1. was he in treatment?

if he had mental problems, why was he left alone with the toddler?

[Quantess]

10. Doesn't sound like he was...

The mother heard him say he wanted to kill himself. That probably should have been a red flag that the boy was unstable, but really, it doesn't seem like anyone responded or took him seriously. Otherwise they would not have left him alone, or given him the reponsibility of caring for a toddler.

[Ptah]

2. There is no indication of the 12-year-old being suicidal before the incident.

[flashl]

3. suicidal statement = suicidal ideation

which may mean a suicidal attempt.

[Ptah]

4. which occurred in the first few hours of custody.

[piedmont]

5. Yes, but not *before* the murder. nt

[NoodleyAppendage]

6. I really have to question whether a 12-year old has the capacity to understand death.

Are we completely reversing the notions of John Locke and returning to an era where children are considered "mini adults"? The FACT remains that the 12-year old brain DOES NOT have a fully formed frontal lobe; the seat of impulse control, moral development, and decision-making.

J

[southerncrone]

8. True, especially in males where it develops later.

A 12 yo boy should never have been left to baby sit a 17 mo. for more than just a few minutes, if at all. :thumbsdown:

[NoodleyAppendage]

9. Agreed. I really fault the absence of parental oversight.

Child endangerment charges need to be registered against the parent(s) who made the poor decision to leave a 12 year old in charge of a 17 mo. old. The kids have an excuse for their relative stupidity or impulsive actions, but not the parents.

J

[DesertFlower]

11. i was 12 years old when my sister was born.

i changed her diapers, gave her bottles and was left to babysit when my parents went out for a few hours. i always knew where they were and how to reach them.

i certainly understood the concept of death.

i think today's children develop mentally at a slower rate than we did. BTW. i'm 66.

[southerncrone]

12. Kids today have too many distractions that keep them from growing up.

When you were 12, my guess is you didn't even have TV to distract you from your responsibilities, & especially not dozens or hundreds of channels. I'll also venture to guess that you had not been exposed the massive amount of violence today's youth see every day--TV, movies, video games, & even public displays on the street & in businesses. I know I wasn't.

We have created a disgusting, chaotic environment for our kids. Parents must exert tremendous effort just to protect their kids from being exposed to very bad things. It use to be just the opposite when you & I were growing up. It's really a wonder that more kids don't do even more crazy stuff when you think about it.

BTW, my brother was born when I was 12, too, & I did the same as you. :hi:

[brentspeak]

13. Even the youngest children understand the concept of death

Studies have shown that infants encouraged to crawl across a clear plastic "bridge" over a large height won't do it; they intuitively understand that falling all the way to the ground will result in their death.

[NoodleyAppendage]

14. Ennnttt...wrong. Visual cliff studies do not reveal understanding of death.

The visual cliff studies reveal innate visual perception skills that have adaptive value for our species. Death is a concept that is divorced from the survival value of depth perception. Death as a concept requires something called "concept of mind," which is the ability of a person to put themselves in the place of another. Concept of mind underlies empathy, understanding of social cues, humor, etc. Many studies have demonstrated that concept of mind develops along the same course as the frontal lobes and is not fully realized until the late teens (at best).

J

[truthisfreedom]

7. The suspect put together a pretty elaborate story. Read the article.

He's quite the liar. I dunno... sounds like a bad seed.