Teen accused in slaying of grandparents
When a school principal came by Tuesday morning for a welfare check, the eighth-grade boy answered the door at his grandparents’ waterfront home near Baytown. The boy said he was home sick and his grandparents, Chester and Sandra Bienek, both 72, were out shopping. All right, the principal said, have them call me when they get back.
The principal called from school a few hours later. The 14-year-old tried to impersonate his grandfather’s voice, but the principal didn’t buy it. The boy put down the phone and came back on the line, the Chambers County sheriff said. He told the principal he saw blood on his grandmother. Administrators called 911.
A sheriff ’s deputy found the couple lifeless in bed, each with one gunshot to the back of the head. Police suspect they were shot in their sleep Sunday night with a .45-caliber handgun believed to be the grandfather’s. The boy apparently stayed home with their bodies for nearly 48 hours.
One murder per year
The grandson has been charged with two counts of capital murder, Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said Wednesday. Prosecutors will decide whether to try him as an adult.
Hawthorne said the motive was unknown, and the boy showed no emotion during interviews and did not make a confession. An uncle, Brett Bienek, said the boy has autism.
The boy’s name has not been released because he is a minor. He is being held at the Hardin County Juvenile Detention Center in Kountze and has a defense lawyer, the sheriff said. A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday. Police said they have spoken with his parents.
Hawthorne said the double slaying in Beach City has “rocked this county.” According to FBI crime data that runs through 2012, the sheriff’s office handles only one murder in an average year in the rural county of 35,000.
The Bieneks were last seen Sunday afternoon when someone spotted Chester Bienek fishing on the bay, police said. The couple’s Adirondack-style loveseat sat facing the bluegreen waters Wednesday as police cars filled the lawn and crime-scene tape blocked the tree-lined driveway.
‘Laid-back community’
A few houses away on Cedar Gully Road, a neighbor said he would trade waves with the victim when they were both out fishing. The neighbor, who gave only his first name, Harvey, said the killings shocked the street’s “laid-back community” of mostly retirees.
Fifteen minutes away, all looked normal at the boy’s school, Barber’s Hill Middle School South. Boys in gym uniforms played flag football, and girls jogged around the track. But inside, administrators were offering extra counseling for students affected by the news.
The superintendent of the district, whose one high school is a local point of pride, said in a message that “the best thing that anyone can do at this time is hug your children and grandchildren and tell them you love them.”