Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

BURKE CTY., Ga. -- The state officially charged a 10-year-old with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime Tuesday.

The juvenile entered a denial of charges plea.

"He formally entered a denial today, which would be akin in an adult case to entering a not guilty plea at an arraignment," said Defense Attorney Pete Theodocion.

Investigators say the boy got his hands on a gun and deliberately shot and killed his father's girlfriend, Jennifer Albright, in December.

Georgia law outlines that anyone under the age of 13 can not be prosecuted as an adult in Superior Court. That's why this case is proceeding in the juvenile court system in Burke County.

If convicted, the boy could be incarcerated until he is 21 years old.

A psychological evaluation was completed but Theodocion says the results are confidential.

Judge Willie Saunders set another status hearing for February. The 10-year-old's trial is scheduled for April 19 and 20 in Burke County Juvenile Court.

The suspect's grandmother, Robin Archer, and his biological mother, Kim McCollum, say they tried to get help as his anger problems got worse. But, they added, none of the agencies they contacted would take action.

"When he was with me, he was the same loving, cuddly boy. But then he would blow up and get mad," McCollum said. "He never wanted to go home -- he always just wanted to come back to me."

McCollum says home was with the boy's father and Albright. The court took away McCollum's custody of the child after she was caught with drugs. She says she's been clean for two years now and was fighting to get back custody.

"All he wanted was to be with his mom," Archer said. "He would ask and beg to come back to her ... I think he just lost it. I mean he just got to a point and blew. And it was over. He said it was gonna be over in his mind, and I don't think he even realized what he did when he did it."

Investigators say the boy got a shotgun and shot Albright while she was changing her 18-month-old daughter's diaper.

Archer says she can't sleep at night.

"I pray for him. We pray for him every night," she said. "We don't know what the future holds for him. It's torn apart in so many ways."

Theodocion says the situation is "awful."

"He's just a very small, soft spoken, sweet little 10-year-old boy," Theodocion said. "It's confusing, it's sad, it's all those emotions."

He says he hopes at the next status hearing, the judge will consider letting the boy go home for the duration of court proceedings.

"Of course our hopes are for him to come home with his mother," Archer said. "That's what he really wants. He wants to be with his mom."

This is not the first time a child under the age of 13 has been charged with murder in Georgia. The Department of Juvenile Justice says their records since the 1990s show a 10-year-old charged in Houston County in 2001; a 12-year-old charged in Richmond County in 2001; another 12-year-old in Richmond County in 2008; and a 10-year-old charged in Fulton County in 2010.