mother of god. what the hell is going on with little kids these days. this is awful. just awful...
By WAYNE PARRY
The Associated Press
Published in the Courier News on March 28, 2003
WOODBRIDGE -- A 10-year-old boy was charged Thursday with luring a 3-year-old boy from a library, beating him with a baseball bat and sexually assaulting him before dumping him in a drainage ditch.
The victim, Amir Beeks, died Thursday morning. The 10-year-old, who was not identified by authorities, was charged with murder, felony murder, kidnapping, illegal weapons possession and aggravated sexual assault.
"This is a shocking case, a tragic case," Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said.
The 10-year-old boy appeared before a Family Court judge in New Brunswick on Thursday and was being held in the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.
Kaplan said the 10-year-old cannot be tried as an adult. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years on the murder charge, but could serve a longer term if he were convicted on the other charges and the judge were to impose consecutive sentences.
The prosecutor said the boys were at the Colonia Library in Woodbridge at 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday. The older boy did not know the younger boy, Kaplan said, adding that a motive in the attack remains unclear.
The 3-year-old child was at the library with relatives, Kaplan said.
Beeks was found face down in a drainage ditch within walking distance of the library at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Paramedics rushed him to JFK Hospital in Edison, where he remained in critical condition on life support until 11:16 a.m. Thursday when he was pronounced dead.
Kaplan said the cause of death has not yet been determined, although it appeared the boy had been beaten with the baseball bat.
He said witnesses at the library were able to lead police to the suspect as well as the location where Beeks was lying. Woodbridge police officers began an intensive search of the area, and soon found the 3-year-old in the drainage ditch.
If convicted, the suspect could be the state`s youngest killer. A 10-year-old child was convicted of killing a baby in Essex County about a decade ago, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the state Attorney General`s office. The birthdates of either of the 10-year-old children were not immediately available.
Mayor Frank Pelzman spoke with Beeks` family Wednesday night at the hospital, describing them as distraught. He also said he was "aware of" the suspect`s family, but had not met them before the incident.
© copyright 2003 The Associated Press
