commentary by Patrick H. Moore
After posting an article on 10-year-old Tristen Kurilla, who is being charged as an adult for allegedly murdering a 90-year-old woman in his grandfather’s care, I was not surprised to discover that many commenters are appalled at the notion that this troubled child could be tried as an adult. He is obviously a very immature child and to try him as an adult would be a travesty.
Several commenters have also stated that the story is full of holes and that the grandfather’s actions are highly suspect. After all, how could he possibly have not realized that Ms. Novak was seriously injured when he first checked on her?
At least one passionate soul on Facebook has suggested that Grandfather could conceivably be the guilty party, or at least share in the guilt, and that they’re trying to frame the boy in order to collect the insurance money or something of that sort.
Although I don’t agree with this theory, I think I understand why these sympathetic souls feel as they do. They are struggling to accept the possibility that bright-eyed Tristen could have actually committed such a heinous act and they also believe that Grandfather should have kept the boy out of Ms. Novak’s room given that he reportedly had “mental difficulties”.
Wednesday’s news is certainly not going to lift anyone out of their gloom. It seems that yesterday Tristen’s lawyer, Bernard Brown, withdrew a request for bail stating that the boy’s family isn’t ready to have him released into their custody.
Thus, for the time being, Tristen remains incarcerated at the Wayne County Correctional Facility.
What the heck is this all about? Suspicious commenters might suspect that the family is buying time to “get their ducks in order” or that, at the very least, they are so disgusted by what the boy allegedly did that they don’t even want him to come back home.
Ouch! As for Tristen, he seems to be beside himself as – guilty or not – the seriousness of his situation begins to sink in.
The boy, who is charged as an adult with criminal homicide, appeared via a video hookup for a hearing, burying his face in his hands at times but not speaking.
The boy’s family believes he is being treated well at the county prison, where he is being housed alone in a cell and being kept away from the general population, said his attorney, Bernard Brown. He said the boy was being provided recreational opportunities and coloring books.
Tristen’s attorney had filed a petition to have him released into the custody of his father or moved to a juvenile detention facility. In withdrawing the petition, Brown did not elaborate on why the family didn’t want him back at home. It’s possible that the family believes that a little “tough love” is called for in this instance. Personally, I’m rarely comfortable with “tough love” and wish the family wanted Tristen to return home immediately if at all possible.
The nearest juvenile detention center is 80 miles away, which would make family visits more inconvenient, Brown said. The judge, Raymond Hamill, made the interesting remark that he would be concerned at this time to move the boy to a juvenile center which would expose him to “elements more detrimental to his well-being.”
It is true that to the best of my knowledge, many juvenile detention centers are truly hell holes, but being in a cell alone in an adult prison with coloring books at the tender age of 10 knowing you are being charged with murder can hardly be a bowl of cherries.
Attorney Brown still plans on working to have the case transferred to juvenile court.
The boy is among the youngest charged with homicide in Pennsylvania, a list that includes two 11-year-olds and a 9-year-old, said Marsha Levick, chief counsel of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia.
Levick said the case belongs in juvenile court, calling it a “no-brainer.”
“He’s a little boy,” she said. “It’s a horrible tragedy, but it’s shocking that he suddenly turned into an adult because of conduct that he engaged in.”
As stated yesterday, based on Pennsylvania law, the prosecutors, if they were to consider the case a homicide, had no choice other than to charge Tristen as an adult. The judge fortunately has the right to move the case to juvenile court should he feel it’s appropriate
The District Attorney Janine Edwards is being cagey stating that “she will wait for the results of a mental health evaluation before deciding whether to contest having the case moved to juvenile court.”
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It seems almost unfair that a single very serious blunder based on a childish lack of impulse control can have such horrific repercussions, but it can and has in the case of Tristen Kurilla.
The visual of this little boy burying his face in his hands there in the courtroom is truly heartbreaking.
Click here to view our earlier post of Tristen Kurilla:
Did a 10-Year-Old Pennsylvania Boy Kill a 90-Year-Old Woman Simply for the ‘Fun’ of It?