A 10-year-old Texas boy confessed last week to killing a stranger over two years ago — but according to state law, the alleged murderous youngster cannot be charged with the crime.
The boy shared key details that have not been revealed to the public in the 2022 slaying of Brandon O’Quinn Rasberry, a case that has left authorities scratching their heads for more than two years.
Rasberry, 32, was found in his RV on Jan. 18, 2022 with a single gunshot wound to his head and two minor graze wounds on each of his hands, according to the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators believe he had been dead for two days before his employer reported him missing. He had only been living in the RV park for four days.
Police combed through Raspberry’s cell phone data and interviewed multiple neighbors, but all leads were exhausted — until last week when a local principal called to report the 10-year-old’s chilling confession and threats to kill another student.
“Based on this information the Deputy contacted the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division. Investigators determined based on the information the child told the school, the child may have knowledge about the murder of Brandon,” the department said.
The boy, whose identity has not been revealed, “described in detail” in interviews with police every detail of the cold-blooded murder he allegedly carried out when he was just 7 years old.
The boy had been visiting his grandfather, who lived at the same RV park, at the time and noticed Rasberry walking around the lot, police said.
On the night of the murder, the child said he took a 9-millimeter pistol — which he described as “dirt and army green” in color — from the glovebox of his grandfather’s truck and crept into Rasberry’s RV.
“The Child stated he observed Brandon sleeping in his bed and approached Brandon and discharged the firearm into Brandon striking him one time in the head,” police stated.
“The child stated as he was leaving the RV he discharged the firearm another time into the couch inside the RV. The child then exited the RV and returned the firearm to the glovebox of the truck.”
According to investigators, the boy had no clear motive for the deranged crime.
He admitted he had never met his victim and didn’t even know his name.
“The child was also asked if he was mad at Brandon for some reason or if Brandon had ever done anything to him to make him mad, the child stated no,” said police.
That same day, police tracked down the suspected weapon at a pawn shop the child’s grandfather had since sold it to. It was later matched with spent shell casings that were collected at the scene of the murder.
Most shockingly — the boy can’t be charged with Rasberry’s death. Texas law states that a child cannot be responsible for a crime until they are 10 years old.
Rasberry’s family is not only outraged that their loved one’s killer won’t be punished for the murder, but is shocked at how young the kid was.
“Finding out it was a 7-year-old that committed the murder, a senseless murder at that, it’s just tragic. It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around,” Rasberry’s brother, Jonathan Fojtik, told KENS5.
“I feel like the boy knew exactly what he was doing,” Fojtik added.
“Why wasn’t the child being supervised more?”
The boy was placed on a 72-hour emergency detention following his confession before being taken to a psychiatric hospital in San Antonio, Texas for evaluation and treatment.
He has since been booked on making terroristic threats charges for the incident involving his classmate and is being held in county jail.
