Prosecutor: Taylor 13-year-old who fatally stabbed sister may face adult sentence upon conviction
TAYLOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 13-year-old girl who is accused of stabbing her 7-year-old sister to death while babysitting her will be designated as an adult, according to officials.
The fatal stabbing took place Saturday, Sept. 28 at a home on Banner Avenue in Taylor, near Telegraph Road. Police say the incident started as an argument over a note that the 7-year-old left about flushing the toilet.
On Thursday, during a hearing, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office submitted a formal request to change the initial legal filing in the case, proposing that the 13-year-old be designated as an adult.
Earlier this week, on Monday, Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the older sister should remain in the juvenile system. However, "other facts discovered in the case have caused the change to an adult designation," according to an update from the prosecutor's office.
The new decision is not the same as criminally trying the minor as an adult.
Instead, "upon conviction, an adult designation allows the judge to have the option of sentencing the respondent as a juvenile, or as an adult, or to fashion a blended juvenile sentence with the option of imposing an adult sentence if the juvenile is not rehabilitated," according to Worthy's office.
Taylor Detective Cpl. Zachary Digiacomo previously told FOX 2 that the teen was "very calm and just showed no emotion" while speaking to police after the incident.
The parents had left the 13-year-old to babysit the 7-year-old when an argument broke out between them.
"It stemmed from a note that was placed in the bathroom and the note was about flushing the toilet," Digiacomo said.
After the argument, the teen allegedly waited until her younger sister was in the bathroom again and stabbed her at least 10 times using a butcher knife and a hunting knife, according to police.
The 7-year-old was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The 13-year-old has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, and first-degree child abuse, according to the prosecutor's office.
The identities of the suspected teen and the victim have not been released by authorities.
Taylor police: Note about flushing toilet led 13-year-old to fatally stab sister
The argument between sisters "stemmed from a note that was placed in the bathroom and the note was about flushing the toilet," said Taylor Detective Cpl. Zachary Digiacomo. The 13-year-old is now facing multiple charges, including first-degree premeditated murder.