10-year-old says he killed man when he was 7, closing unsolved homicide, Texas cops say

A 10-year-old said he killed a man when he was 7, leading deputies to close an unsolved murder from 2022, Texas authorities said.

On April 12, investigators were called to the Nixon Smiley Independent School District about a boy who threatened to kill another student on the bus, according to an April 18 news release from the Gonzalez County Sheriff’s Office.

During an assessment following the incident, the boy told school officials “that he shot and killed a man two years ago,” the sheriff’s office said.

He provided, in detail, “information that was consistent with first-hand knowledge of the homicide of Brandon Rasberry,” authorities said.

On Jan. 18, 2022, 32-year-old Rasberry was found dead in his trailer at Lazy K RV Park in Nixon with a gunshot wound to the head, the sheriff’s office said. An autopsy ruled his death a homicide.

Forensic analysis, cell phone data and evidence gathered at the scene did not result in any new leads, according to authorities.

Investigators exhausted the few leads they had, and Rasberry’s death remained unsolved until the 10-year-old’s confession, the sheriff’s office said.

2022 homicide of Brandon Rasberry

The boy told investigators he was visiting his grandfather, who lived a few lots away from Rasberry, on Jan. 16, 2022.

He told them he took a pistol from the glove box of his grandfather’s truck and entered Rasberry’s RV, where he saw him sleeping in his bed, the release said.

The then-7-year-old fired the pistol, striking him one time in the head, before exiting the RV and returning the firearm to the glove box of the truck, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The child stated he had never met Brandon, and did not know who he was although he had observed him walking around the RV earlier in the day,” the sheriff’s office said.

“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.”

The boy told investigators his grandfather sold the pistol to a pawn shop in Seguin, but authorities located it April 12, 2024, the sheriff’s office said.

“On April 17, investigators transported two spent shell casings that were collected from the scene of the murder to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms San Antonio Field Office for forensic analysis and comparison using National Integrated Ballistic Information Network,” the sheriff’s office said.

Their analysis confirmed the pistol recovered from the pawn shop was the firearm used in the shooting death of Rasberry, authorities said.

Charges

According to authorities, Texas law states children cannot be held culpable for a crime until age 10.

At the time of Rasberry’s killing, the boy was 7, and therefore murder charges cannot be filed against him, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said the boy was placed on a 72-hour emergency detention before being evaluated and treated at a psychiatric facility in San Antonio.

He was booked at the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office on charges of terroristic threat relating to the school bus incident.

“The child was placed in detention by Gonzales County Juvenile Probation to await his court date at a later time,” the authorities said.

Nixon is about a 75-mile drive south from Austin.

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