List of youngest killers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Throughout history, there have been instances of children intentionally killing other individuals, with a majority of these cases occurring in the United States.[citation needed] Some children have not been charged with murder, as the minimum age of criminal responsibility varies depending on the country and location; for instance, children must be at least ten years old to be judged in the United Kingdom or in certain states in the United States, such as Wisconsin.[1][2]
List
The following is a list of children who have been confirmed by reliable sources to have deliberately killed another human being, during which they were documented to be younger than age 13.
| Name | Age at time of killing(s) | Date of killing(s) | Location | Killed | Injured | Note(s) and citation(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed girl | 3 years | April 11, 1906 | Benwood, West Virginia, United States | 1 | 0 | She attacked a two-month-old neighbor while the adults were away. According to reports, the girl took a butcher knife and inflicted multiple severe wounds, including cuts to the face and body, killing the baby.[3] |
| Retta McCabe | 4 years | October 30, 1897 | Troy, New York, United States | 1 | 0 | McCabe was prone to outbursts of agitation during which she would assault others and herself. She struck her younger brother, who succumbed to his wounds weeks later.[4][5] |
| Unnamed boy | 4 years | April 2012 | Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | He shot his father in the head with his father's gun—allegedly because his father would not buy him a PlayStation console—in Jizan. The Saudi press dubbed him the youngest killer in the history of Saudi Arabia.[6][7][8] |
| Unnamed boy | 5 years | October 15, 1994 | Trondheim, Norway | 1 | 0 | They attacked five-year-old Silje Redergård while playing in the snow. After beating her and leaving her in the cold, they ran away, leaving her to die.[9] |
| Unnamed boy | 6 years | |||||
| Carl Newton Mahan | 6 years | May 18, 1929 | Paintsville, Kentucky, United States | 1 | 0 | Mahan shot eight-year-old Cecil Van Hoose.[10] He was sentenced to 15 years in a reformatory, but his sentence was later overturned.[11] |
| Unnamed boy | 6 years | February 29, 2000 | Mount Morris Township, Michigan, United States | 1 | 0 | An unnamed boy shot his six-year-old classmate, Kayla Rolland, at Buell Elementary School. The gun owner, a friend of the family who lived with the boy, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.[12] |
| Lizzie Cook | 6 years | February 27, 1899 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | 1 | 0 | Cook intentionally set her two-year-old brother's clothes on fire while she was babysitting. The fire burned through the fabric and he died.[13][better source needed] |
| Unnamed boy | 6 years | June 2, 1910 | Oslo, Norway | 1 | 0 | [clarification needed][14] |
| Unnamed Boy | 7 years | May 18, 2008 | Argentina | 7 | 19+ | Together with his 9-year-old brother, he abducted a 2-year-old girl named Milagros Belizán; after taking her to a remote location, they tied her up, beat her, and suffocated her to death.[15][16] |
| Unnamed Girl | 7 years | February 22, 2015 | Potiskum, Nigeria | 7 | 19+ | She entered the market in the city of Potiskum and detonated explosives[17] |
| Unnamed boy | 7 years | December 4, 2022 | Curacautín, Chile | 1 | 0 | He fatally shot a friend with an air rifle. He was not charged due to his age, although his parents, both policemen who had taught him how to use air guns, were convicted of negligent homicide and sentenced to 300 days' imprisonment.[18] |
| Unnamed boy | 7 years | January 2022 | Smiley, Texas, United States | 1 | 0 | He shot 32-year-old Brandon Rasberry. He was not charged due to his age, but was instead sent to a psychiatric hospital.[19] |
| Virginia Hudson | 7 years | July 23, 1887 | Butler Township, South Carolina, United States | 1 | 0 | Hudson beat a one-year-old child to death with a board. She was charged with murder.[20] |
| Robert Robertson | 7 years, 6 months | June 1907 | Forest, Tasmania, Australia | 1 | 0 | Robertson beat his two-year-old brother with a piece of wood while he was babysitting. He was charged with murder, then put into state care.[21] |
| Amarjeet Sada | 8 years | 2007 | Begusarai, India | 3 | 0 | He killed his eight-month-old sister, his nine-month-old cousin, and an unrelated six-month-old baby. He was not charged due to his age, but instead sent to a remand home in Munger.[22] |
| Unnamed girl | 8 years | July 4, 1867 | Cassville, Missouri, United States | 1 | 0 | She killed her four-year-old brother and was declared insane.[23] |
| Unnamed boy | 8 years | February 7, 2014 | Padre Hurtado, Chile | 1 | 0 | He stabbed his seven-year-old cousin. He was not charged due to his age.[24] |
| Patrick Knowles | 8 years | May 1903 | Stockton-on-Tees, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 2 | Knowles buried one-year-old Frederick Hughes, who died of suffocation. Knowles also attempted to drown one-year-old Fanny Lynas,[25] as well as burying another child.[26] He served nine years in prison under His Majesty's pleasure.[27] |
| Unnamed boy | 8 years, 10 months | November 5, 2008 | St. Johns, Arizona, United States | 2 | 0 | He shot his 29-year-old father, Vincent Romero, and his father's coworker.[28] He was arrested and pled guilty to negligent homicide. He was sentenced to an indefinite stay at a youth treatment center near Phoenix. He later moved to a group home and then a foster home.[29] |
| Carroll Cole | 8 years | 1947 | Richmond, California, United States | 1 | 0 | Cole drowned an eight-year-old boy. The murder was initially ruled an accident until he confessed in adulthood after killing five women. He was executed by lethal injection on December 6, 1985.[citation needed] |
| Mary Cooper | 9 years | 1885 | Scottsville, Virginia, United States | 1 | 0 | Cooper hung and beat her seven-year-old cousin Melville Barrett.[30] |
| Unnamed boy | 9 years | May 6, 2019 | Fawn River Township, Michigan, United States | 1 | 0 | He shot his 51-year-old adoptive mother.[31] |
| Cayetano Santos Godino | 9 years, 4 months, 29 days – 16 years, 1 month, 3 days | March 29, 1906 – December 3, 1912 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 4 | 0 | The first murder was not discovered until Santos Godino later confessed. He was arrested several times.[citation needed] |
| Unnamed boy | 10 years | September 2022 | Haicheng Township, China | 1 | 0 | He strangled his grandmother to death on video after she slapped him.[32] |
| Noah Q. Mann-Tate[33] | 10 years | November 21, 2022 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 1 | 0 | He shot and killed his mother.[34] |
| Unnamed girl (referred to as "A. F."[35]) | 10 years | October 30, 2018 | Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, United States | 1 | 0 | Killed six-month-old Jaxon Hunter.[36][37] Her case was moved to juvenile court in 2019.[38] |
| William York | 10 years | May 13, 1748 | Eyke, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | York attacked five-year-old Susan Matthew with a knife, killing her. He was sentenced to death, but later pardoned.[39] |
| Hubbard Harrell | 10 years | February 3, 1888 | Savannah, Georgia, United States | 3 | 0 | Harrell burned his six-year-old nephew and two unrelated children with boiling water.[40] |
| James Osmanson | 10 years | April 12, 1994 | Butte, Montana, United States | 1 | 0 | Osmanson shot his 11-year-old classmate Jeremy Bullock at Margaret Leary Elementary School.[41] He was sent to a residential treatment facility.[42] |
| Joseph McVay | 10 years | January 2, 2011 | Big Prairie, Ohio, United States | 1 | 0 | McVay shot his 46-year-old mother Deborah McVay. He was charged with "delinquency by virtue of committing murder."[43] He was sentenced to a juvenile detention center, then a residential treatment facility.[44] |
| Unnamed girl | 10 years | September 18, 2010 | Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States | 1 | 0 | She beat two-year-old Zyda White, who she was babysitting. White fell unconscious and later died.[45] |
| Jane Walker | 10 years | 1886 | Aiken County, South Carolina, United States | 1 | 0 | Walker poisoned the younger relative she was babysitting. She was charged with murder.[46] |
| James Arcene | 10 years | 1872 | Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, United States | 1 | 0 | Arcene, alongside a man named William Parchmeal, shot and beat William Feigel. Arcene was convicted of robbery and murder, then executed.[citation needed] |
| Robert Thompson | 10 years, 5 months, 20 days | February 12, 1993 | Liverpool, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | Thompson and Venables abducted two-year-old James Bulger from a shopping center in Bootle. They tortured Bulger before laying him across railway tracks, where he was hit by a train. They both spent eight years in a young offenders' institution.[47] In 2017, Venables was re-incarcerated for possessing Child pornography.[48] |
| Jon Venables | 10 years, 5 months, 30 days | |||||
| Unnamed boy | 10 years | August 21, 2013 | Broadview, Saskatchewan, Canada | 1 | 0 | He beat six-year-old Lee Bonneau to death.[49] He was not charged due to his age.[50] |
| Joseph Hall | 10 years, 10 months, 12 days | May 1, 2011 | Riverside, California, United States | 1 | 0 | Hall shot his 32-year-old father, neo-Nazi leader Jeff Hall. He was sentenced to juvenile detention until the age of 23. His stepmother Krista McCary was charged with criminal storage of firearms and child neglect.[citation needed] |
| Mary Bell | 10 years, 11 months, 30 days – 11 years, 1 month, 7 days | May 25, 1968 – July 31, 1968 | Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom | 2 | 0 | Bell strangled four-year-old Martin Brown and three-year-old Brian Howe, killing them both. She served 12 years in prison under Her Majesty's pleasure.[citation needed] |
| Anton Wood | 11 years | November 1892 | Denver, Colorado, United States | 1 | 0 | Wood shot Joseph Smith. He was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to either 25 years of hard labor or life in prison.[51] |
| Nellie Cornelison | 11 years | January 15, 1902 | Wichita, Kansas, United States | 1 | 0 | Cornelison slit the throat of her sister Laura Cornelison. She was not charged due to her age.[52] |
| Nathaniel Jamar Abraham | 11 years, 9 months, 10 days[53] | October 29, 1997 | Pontiac, Michigan, United States | 1 | 0 | Abraham shot an 18-year-old man. He was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder.[54][55] |
| Andrew Golden | 11 years, 9 months, 27 days | March 24, 1998 | Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States | 5 | 10 | Golden, alongside 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson, shot one of their teachers and four of their classmates at Westside Middle School. They were both imprisoned until the age of 21, with Golden serving 9 years and 2 months.[citation needed] |
| Unnamed girl | 11 years | June 1, 2004 | Sasebo, Japan | 1 | 0 | She killed her 12-year-old classmate Satomi Mitari at Okubo Elementary School. She was not charged, instead being institutionalized in a reformatory.[citation needed] |
| José Ángel Ramos Betts | 11 years | January 10, 2020 | Torreón, Mexico | 1 | 6 | An 11 year old student opened fire at the facilities of Colegio Cervantes Campus Bosque killing 1 and injuring 6 before turning the gun on himself.[citation needed] |
| Clayton Dietz | 11 years | January 13, 2026 | Perry, Pennsylvania, United States | 1 | 0 | An 11-year-old boy accused of shooting his stepfather on his birthday.[56] |
| Unnamed boy | 11 years | September 15, 2016 | Changde, China | 1 | 0 | Suspect Xiong strangled Beibei to death following a physical altercation triggered by an argument while playing.[57] |
| Unnamed girl | 12 years | January 2023 | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States | 1 | 0 | Stabbed her nine-year-old brother to death.[58] |
| Nathan Daniel Faris | 12 years | March 2, 1987 | De Kalb, Missouri, United States | 1 | 0 | Faris shot his 13-year-old classmate Timothy Perrin at De Kalb High School. He then committed suicide.[42] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | January 2000 | Bristol, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | He stabbed his six-month-old brother, cutting off his left hand. He was charged with manslaughter but found unfit to stand trial.[59] |
| Piedad Martínez del Águila | 12 years | December 4, 1965 – January 4, 1966 | Murcia, Spain | 4 | 0 | Piedad Martínez del Águila poisoned four of her siblings.[60][61] |
| Mary Maher | 12 years | August 21 – September 8, 1906 | Dunkitt, County Kilkenny, Ireland | 3 | 1 | Maher poisoned her three sisters. She then committed suicide.[62] |
| Jose Reyes | 12 years, 3 months, 19 days | October 21, 2013 | Sparks, Nevada, United States | 1 | 2 | Reyes shot one of his classmates and one of his teachers at Sparks Middle School. He then committed suicide. |
| Lionel Tate | 12 years, 5 months, 28 days | July 28, 1999 | Broward County, Florida, United States | 1 | 0 | Tate battered his six-year-old cousin Tiffany Eunick to death. He was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The sentence was later reduced to one year of house arrest and 10 years of probation. As an adult he was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for armed robbery.[citation needed] |
| Kristen Pittman | 12 years, 7 months, 19 days | November 28, 2001 | Chester, South Carolina, United States | 2 | 0 | Pittman shot her grandparents. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Her sentence was later reduced by five years.[citation needed] |
| Hannah Ocuish | 12 years, 9 months | July 21, 1786 | New London, Connecticut, United States | 1 | 0 | Ocuish's guilt is disputed.[clarification needed] She was hanged for the murder of six-year-old Eunice Bolles.[citation needed] |
| Evan Savoie | 12 years, 3 months, 24 days | February 15, 2003 | Ephrata, Washington, United States | 1 | 0 | Savoie and Eakin stabbed and beat their 13-year-old friend Craig Sorger to death. Savoie was convicted of first-degree murder and Eakin was convicted of second-degree murder. Both Savoie and Eakin have since been released.[citation needed] |
| Jake Eakin | 12 years, 3 months, 1 day | |||||
| Jasmine Richardson | 12 years, 6 months, 2 days | April 23, 2006 | Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada | 3 | 0 | Richardson and her 23-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Steinke stabbed three of her family members. Richardson was charged with first-degree murder. In 2020 her criminal record was expunged.[citation needed] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | December 2, 2018 | Yuanjiang, China | 1 | 0 | He stabbed his mother. He was not charged due to his age.[63] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | April 13, 2012 | Hengyang, China | 3 | 0 | A 12-year-old boy killed three members of his aunt's family with a fruit knife.[64] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | December 19, 2016 | Huichang, China | 1 | 0 | A 12-year-old boy stabbed a classmate.[65] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | January 21, 2013 | Dorval, Quebec, Canada | 1 | 0 | The boy shot and killed his brother. He was sentenced to two years' probation.[66] |
| Curtis Jones | 12 years, 1 month and 6 days | January 6, 1999 | Port St. John, Florida, United States | 1 | 0 | Jones and his 13-year-old sister Catherine Jones were charged with second-degree murder. They were both sentenced to 17 years in prison.[citation needed] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | September 29, 2019 | São Paulo, Brazil | 1 | 0 | He was sentenced to three years in prison.[67][68] |
| Alex King | 12 years | November 26, 2001 | Cantonment, Florida, United States | 1 | 0 | King and his 13-year-old brother Derek King killed their father. Alex served six years of his eight-year sentence.[citation needed] |
| Danny Preddie | 12 years | November 27, 2000 | London, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | Preddie and his 13-year-old brother Ricky Preddie attacked 10-year-old Damilola Taylor with a glass bottle. Danny was sentenced to eight years in prison, but served four additional years for violating his parole.[citation needed] |
| Unnamed girl | 12 years | July 15, 2024 | Humboldt, Tennessee, United States | 1 | 0 | She smothered her eight-year-old cousin. She was charged with murder and tampering with evidence.[69] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | October 18, 2019 | Curitiba, Brazil | 1 | 0 | He stabbed an elderly woman and was temporarily detained for 45 days.[70] |
| Howard Lang | 12 years | November 18, 1947 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 1 | 0 | Lang killed seven-year-old Lonnie Fellick.[71] He was sentenced to 22 years in prison. His sentence was later overturned due to his age. This case was cited in Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent.[72] |
| Edwin Carl Debrow Jr. | 12 years | September 21, 1991 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | 1 | 0 | Debrow shot a man. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison and released in 2019.[73][74][75] |
| Bailey Kurariki | 12 years, 3 months, 28 days | September 12, 2001 | Papakura, New Zealand | 1 | 0 | Kurariki killed 40-year-old Michael Choy alongside seven accomplices. He was charged with manslaughter and released on parole in 2008. In 2011, he was sentenced to 14 months in prison for assault and domestic violence.[citation needed] |
| Jonah Louis Iverson[76] | 12 years | August 29, 1995 | Laredo, Texas, United States | 1 | 0 | Iverson shot his 12-year-old classmate Lizzy Rivera at Memorial Middle School. He served ten years, firstly in a Texas Youth Commission facility and then in a state prison.[77] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | April 2, 2024 | Vantaa, Finland | 1 | 2 | He shot three of his classmates with a revolver, killing one.[78] |
| Cristian Fernandez | 12 years, 2 months | March 12, 2011 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | 1 | 0 | Fernandez beat his 2-year-old half-brother David Galarraga to death. He was convicted of manslaughter and released one day after his nineteenth birthday in 2018.[79] |
| Sharon Carr | 12 years, 5 months, 17 days | June 7, 1992 | Camberley, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | Carr stabbed 18-year-old Katie Rackliff in a random attack. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 14 years and is still in custody.[80] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | June 17, 2002 | Wissous, France | 1 | 0 | A man and his son confronted security guard Maurice Jean-Joseph and attacked him for allegedly harassing the son's sister. After the man struck Jean-Joseph, the boy fatally stabbed him. The boy was unable to be charged due to his age.[81] |
| Isiah Fowler | 12 years | April 27, 2013 | Valley Springs, California, United States | 1 | 0 | Fowler stabbed his sister Leila to death at their home. He successfully appealed his murder conviction in 2018, but was again found guilty in a second trial. He was paroled in 2023.[82] |
| Ayden Merrell | 12 years | February 2, 2017 | Fouke, Arkansas, United States | 1 | 0 | Merrell shot convenience store clerk Christa Shockley during a robbery. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years.[83] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | May 14, 2023 | Keene, Texas, United States | 1 | 0 | He shot and killed Sonic Drive-In employee Matthew Davis after an argument ensued between the boy's uncle and Davis. The boy was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while his aunt, who gave him a rifle and told him to shoot Davis, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.[84] |
| Unnamed boy | 12 years | November 13, 2023 | Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom | 1 | 0 | Two boys stabbed 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai during a confrontation. Both were sentenced to be detained at His Majesty's pleasure.[85] |
| Unnamed boy | ||||||
| Unnamed girl | 12 years | December 15, 2025 | Jelenia Góra, Poland | 1 | 0 | She stabbed her 11-year-old schoolmate.[86] |
| Unnamed girl | 12 years | March 11, 2023 | Freudenberg, Germany | 1 | 0 | They stabbed their 12-year-old friend, Luise F.[87] |
| Unnamed girl | 13 years | |||||
| Kosta Kecmanovic | 13 years | May 3, 2023 | Serbia | 10 | 6 | Kosta killed 10 people and injured 6 people in Belgrade School Shooting |
| İsa Aras Mersenli | 13 years | April 15, 2026 | Turkey | 10 | 12 | İsa Aras Mersenli killed 10 people and injured 12 people in a Turkey School Shooting |