Judge explains murder charges brought against Illinois boy, 9

EUREKA, Ill. — A 9-yearold boy accused of murder and arson in the deaths of five people appeared Monday morning in Woodford County juvenile court, and a judge tried to explain the charges being brought against him.

The boy wore blue slacks and a red and black checkered shirt. He walked in with his hands in his pockets. When he sat, his feet only touched the ground if he slid forward in his chair, and his head barely reached above the top of the seat.

He is accused of starting the April fire that took the lives of four of his relatives and his mother’s boyfriend. His mother, Katie Alwood, confirmed his identity. The Tribune is not naming him because he has been charged as a juvenile.

The boy, if found guilty, is too young to be sentenced to any juvenile detention center. He could only face probation.

Judge Charles Feeney read the charges to the boy, who sat with a court-appointed attorney. Representatives of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services attended the hearing, along with the boy’s grandparents and father.

The fire, which took place in early April in a mobile home in Goodfield, Ill., east of Peoria, claimed the lives of Jason Wall, 34; and two children he and Katie Alwood had, Daemeon Wall, 2, and Ariel Wall, 1. Kathryn Murray, 69, also died in the fire; she was Alwood’s grandmother. Alwood’s niece, Rose Alwood, 2, also died.

Feeney read the first count to the boy, saying that he’s alleged to have “committed the offense of firstdegree murder and you ... set fire to trailer residence ... thereby caused the death of Jason wall.”

When Feeney asked the boy if he understood, he shook his head no.

“What don’t you understand,” he asked.

“What I did,” the boy said.

The judge started over, stopping on certain words to define them for the boy. After reading a few counts, the boy told his attorney he didn’t know what allegation meant.

The judge introduced another count by comparing it to the previous: that it was “essentially the same thing, that you set the fire to the trailer residence on same date and everything, only in this instance, Ariel Wall died. Do you understand what is alleged in count four?”

“Yes,” he said.

“In count five, it alleges essentially the same thing, only it alleges the death of Rose Alwood. Do you understand what is alleged in count five?”

“Yes,” the boy said.