A 10-year-old boy in Louisiana has been arrested after allegedly admitting to fatally shooting an 82-year-old former mayor and his 31-year-old daughter.
Joe Cornelius and his daughter Keisha Miles were discovered dead inside a Minden home on Sunday, September 1, according to local police, KTBS, the Minden Press-Herald, and the Webster Parish Journal.
According to investigators, the victims were shot many times.
“We have the suspect in custody now,” Minden Police Chief Jared McIver stated of the 10-year-old, adding, “We have a confession from the suspect.”
However, McIver told KTBS that instances involving adolescents are tricky.
“We have a confession. However, in these circumstances, it is quite delicate. “When dealing with a child of this age, you know, in their stage, we’re looking at …was there a motive, what was it?” he told the site.
“It’s one of those things that we’ve still got a lot of unanswered questions,” McIver talked about.
He went on to say that while the boy was “scared,” he appeared to have the “mindset to commit a crime like this.” It wasn’t immediately clear whose attitude McIver was talking to.
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Authorities did not disclose the nature of the child’s relationship with the victims.
According to McIver, the boy was escorted by his grandmother, his legal guardian, for questioning during the investigation. It was not immediately known what the boy was arrested for or whether he had hired an attorney to represent him.
Minden police were unavailable for comment on Monday, September 2. Cornelius was well-known in the town and served as Minden’s interim mayor in 2013, according to the Webster Parish Journal and KTBS.
He was a former Minden city councilman recognized for his involvement with local youngsters and earned the nickname “Mister Joe,” according to a 2003 newspaper clipping.
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He started the Concerned Citizens of Minden in 1990 after a 10-year-old named Tray Day informed him that there were no summer activities for youngsters. The organization went on to raise money for student scholarships.
Minden Mayor Nick Cox said in a statement that he remembers him as a dear friend and community-minded politician.
“Joe Cornelius’s years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community,” Cox said in a statement to KTLA and KTBS.