A 10-year-old Texas boy will not be charged after admitting to shooting a stranger to death while the victim slept more than two years ago, authorities announced Friday.
On January 18, 2022, just days shy of his eighth birthday, Brandon O’Quinn Raspberry, 32, was killed at an RV park in Nixon, about 90 miles east of San Antonio. While sleeping, he was shot once in the head. According to the Gonzalez County Sheriff’s Office, Raspberry had just moved in four days ago.
The principal of the Nixon-Smiley Independent School District told lawmakers on April 12 that the student had assaulted and threatened to kill another student on the bus the night before. After a threat assessment was conducted on the student, school administrators contacted the sheriff’s office and the student confessed to shooting and killing a man two years earlier.
“I was shocked, very shocked,” Raspberry’s father, Kenneth Raspberry, said. KSAT 12 News. “The suspect is nowhere to be found as we thought.”
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In 2022, Brandon Rasberry was 32 years old when he was murdered at the RV park he had just moved into just days earlier. (Brandon Raspberry/Facebook)
Investigators said the boy was taken to a child advocacy center, where he gave details of Raspberry’s death that were “consistent with first-hand knowledge” of the crime.
The boy said he was at the RV park visiting his grandfather, who lived a short distance from Raspberry. The 10-year-old boy obtained a 9mm handgun in the color “dirt and army green” from the glove box of his grandfather’s truck, he said.
Investigators said the boy got into Raspberry’s RV and shot her in the head, then fired again at the couch before leaving and putting the gun back in the truck.
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Brandon Raspberry was found dead after not showing up for work for two days. (Brandon Raspberry/Facebook)
The child stated that he had observed Raspberry walking around the RV earlier in the day, but had never seen him and had no reason to be angry with him. Raspberry was found dead after not coming to work for two days.
The murder weapon was found Friday at a pawn shop in Seguin, where investigators were told the boy had pawned it from his grandfather. After two spent shell casings collected from the scene were sent for forensic analysis and comparison, it was secured as evidence and found to be related to the crime.
The sheriff’s office said the boy was placed in emergency custody for 72 hours “due to the seriousness of the crime and ongoing concerns for the child’s mental health.”
Nixon, Texas is approximately 90 miles east of San Antonio. The murder happened at the Lazy J RV Park. (Google Maps)
He was taken to a psychiatric hospital in San Antonio for evaluation and treatment and then brought back to Gonzalez County. He was incarcerated in a juvenile detention center on suspicion of making terrorist threats in connection with the school bus incident.
The Gonzalez County Sheriff’s Office said the boy will not be charged with murder because of his age at the time of the crime. According to Texas law, criminal liability begins at age 10.
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“He needs to pray. He needs to be comforted… He’s forgiven. And can still be saved. He’s so young. He’s definitely struggling with something,” Kenneth said. Raspberry told KSAT.
His son worked at Holmes Foods in Nixon for about three months before his death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
