Teen Admits Guilt In 4-Year-Old Sister’s Stabbing Death

ABILENE, TX. (AP) – A 13-year-old has admitted to stabbing his 4-year-old sister to death and will be sentenced in juvenile court next week, authorities said.

The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, pleaded “true” during an adjudication hearing last week to a capital murder charge in the death of Ella Smith, who suffered multiple knife wounds in February. The boy and his sister were home alone at the time of the stabbing. The boy was too young to be certified to stand trial as an adult.

Judge Robert Harper will determine Monday the teen’s punishment, which is up to 40 years in state custody, said Mike Lindsay, director of the Taylor County Juvenile Probation Department. Youths who are committed to the state juvenile justice system, the Texas Youth Commission, for serious crimes such as murder typically are sent to the Giddings State School.

The facility, between Austin and Houston, has a violent offender treatment program for youths. Youths must be released from TYC facilities at age 19. Depending on the boy’s sentence and the minimum amount of time he must serve, he could be moved to the adult prison system when he turns 19, officials said.

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