A 10-year-old boy accused of stabbing a 13-year-old girl to death in Texas claims he was acting in self-defense, police say.
Riley DeArmas was killed during a massive brawl in Houston involving “20 to 30” people, Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson revealed at a press conference.
Officers were called to the scene around 8 p.m. last Wednesday after reports of a stabbing outside an apartment in Grow Lane.
“[They] located a juvenile female suffering from a stab wound. Houston Fire Department paramedics transported her to an area hospital where she was pronounced deceased,” the police department said in a statement.
“Further investigation determined there was an altercation between two groups of individuals, including the juvenile female, at the location which led to the female suffering a stab wound.”
Riley is yet to be formally identified as the victim by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, but her family said that she was the girl who had been killed.
Her mother rejected the suggestion that Riley had been stabbed in self-defense because she was part of an attack, describing her as a gentle and loving child.
“She was not a violent person. She would never harm anyone intentionally,” Ashley DeArmas told local CBS affiliate KHOU. “The narrative that’s going around right now about my daughter, that was not Riley.”
On Saturday evening, nearly 100 family members and close friends gathered to remember Riley by releasing a sea of balloons, many of which were purple in tribute to her favorite color. Riley, who would have turned 14 next month, was described by her mother as “joyful”, “free-spirited”, and “happy.”
“Instead of me celebrating her 14th birthday, I’m celebrating and trying to bury my daughter right now. These balloons could have been for her 14th birthday, not her death,” Riley’s mom said. “She did not deserve it. She did not deserve to die.”
Well-wishers attending the gathering hugged and wept as the balloons floated into the sky. Riley’s aunt Megan DeArmas said: “I will never get a chance to hug her, to tell her I love her, because her life was just cut so short.”
The boy who was detained over the killing was later released pending further investigation, with homicide investigators asking the prosecutor’s office how they want to proceed with charges, Lt. Crowson said at the press conference.
“It’s a 10-year-old,” Crowson told media, in remarks reported by KHOU. “That is the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the state of Texas, so charges could be filed. That’ll be up to the district attorney.”
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has said it will make a decision on charges once police have completed their investigation.
Anyone with information about the killing is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
