Manchester teens tried to execute ‘kill list’
Prosecutor: ‘Murder-suicide plot’ in attempt on relative
A Manchester 14-year-old has been charged as an adult after she plotted with her 13-year-old boyfriend to kill a relative of his as part of a “kill list” and then commit suicide, according to the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Alaina Jade Blake, 14, faces charges of attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, according to online court records. Blake is being held without bond and will be transferred to Thomas J.S. Waxter Children’s Center, a juvenile detention facility in Laurel, a Carroll County District Court judge determined during a bail review hearing Tuesday morning.
The boyfriend is 13 years old, according to a news release from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. His name was withheld in court documents because he is a juvenile. He was charged, according to the release, though police did not specify the charges. Thirteen-year- olds are automatically charged as juveniles in Maryland, though the prosecution can file a waiver petition to have a juvenile charged as an adult.
By Maryland law, if a 14-year-old is charged with first-degree murder or attempted murder, they are automatically charged as an adult, according to Carroll County State’s Attorney Brian DeLeonardo. He did not comment on whether a waiver petition would be filed for the 13-year-old in the case.
Blake turned 14 on Saturday, according to online court records.
According to the statement of charges, Blake and her boyfriend attacked a 56-yearold relative of his with a hammer and knife after another relative left for work.
The victim was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment, the release reads. The victim will need reconstructive jaw surgery but is in stable condition, Jennifer Brady, senior assistant state’s attorney, said at the bail review Tuesday. After the attack, the victim was able to call 911, according to Brady.
Blake attended the bail review hearing via video conference.
The teens had a “kill list,” planned to murder the boyfriend’s relative, Blake’s grandparents and “possibly others,” Brady said. There was a “murder-suicide plot” in which Blake planned to ask her boyfriend to kill her once their list was complete, according to Brady. A motive for the alleged crimes was not discussed in court.
At about 5:20 Monday morning, Sheriff’s Office deputies found the teens on the roof of the Manchester residence where the assault occurred, wearing blood-stained clothing and holding knives in their hands, according to the statement. Police told them to drop their knives, and they did, then they were taken into custody, the statement reads.
Brady said in court the teens had a large amount of money and an overnight bag on them when they were arrested.
The boyfriend told police he had been texting Blake on Sunday about killing his relative, then afterward the teens would go to Blake’s residence and kill her grandparents, according to the statement. While the boyfriend was texting and calling Blake, she walked from her home to his with a backpack of belongings, the statement reads.
The boyfriend hid Blake in the basement of the victim’s home until the other relative left for work, then Blake got a hammer from the boyfriend’s bedroom and went to the victim’s bedroom, according to the statement.
According to the statement, the boyfriend told police he heard a “blood curdling” scream, he went to the bedroom and saw blood spurting out of the victim’s head. The boyfriend then stabbed the victim in the neck, read the statement.
The boyfriend told police he and Blake also planned to kill her grandparents before leaving for Canada, the statement reads. Blake gave a similar account to police, saying the two were going to kill her grandparents then flee by car, according to documents.
Of the attack, she said she went into the victim’s bedroom with a night light to see in the dark and held the hammer with both hands as she brought it down on the victim’s head, according to charging documents.
Brady said in court that Blake struck the victim with the hammer “multiple times.”
The victim screamed, Blake dropped the hammer and ran back to her boyfriend’s bedroom, the statement reads. The boyfriend then went into the victim’s bedroom with a curved knife to kill the victim, according to the statement.
The victim fought them off, the teens went to the roof and Blake said they did not run because they heard the police coming, the statement reads.
DeLeonardo said he could not comment on Blake’s case, as it is pending, nor would he comment on the 13-year-old charged in the case. Generally speaking, DeLeonardo said it is unusual for a minor to be charged as an adult in Carroll County.