Teen to be tried as adult in beating death

A 15-year-old boy accused of brutally beating and killing a 6-year-old girl at a Cordova foster home last year will be tried as an adult.

On Dec. 23, Antonio Evans, who was then 14, allegedly assaulted Destine King and two other foster children, a 7year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, according to the Memphis Police Department. The children were in the care of Evans at a Cordova home while the victims’ foster mother was at work.

Destine was taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in critical condition and died days later.

Evans was charged with first-degree murder in the perpetration of a felony, aggravated child abuse, attempted firstdegree murder, coercion of a witness and assault.

He had been held in juvenile detention after his Dec. 31 arrest. Last Friday, Evans was transferred from juvenile detention to the men’s jail at 201 Poplar.

Evans is one of 14 inmates in the Shelby County Jail who are younger than 18.

Although younger juveniles have been convicted of homicide, Evans would be one of the youngest juveniles to stand trial as an adult.

In 2004 14-year-old Deandre Kendall was transferred to adult court before pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2002 shotgun slaying of William Hall, 15. Kendall was sentenced to 30 years in prison with no parole.

But other homicide cases, including several involving youths 12 or 13 years old, remained under Juvenile Court jurisdiction.

In February a 12-year-old boy was arrested for stabbing his 15-year-old brother to death. His case was “disposed of ” by Juvenile Court in May. It’s unknown if the charges were dropped, the boy was sent home or was sent to a juvenile detention facility.

In 2014 a Juvenile Court magistrate ruled that a 13-year-old boy who admitted to fatally shooting his 10-year-old sister in the face would remain locked up until his 19th birthday, the maximum detention time allowable for a child not transferred to adult court.

In 2008 a 13-year-old girl stabbed 18year-old Otisa McGaha to death during a neighborhood fight in South Memphis. She was committed to the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services until her 19th birthday.