Boy, aged 10, accused of murdering father with shotgun

A BOY of 10 has been charged with first-degree murder over the shotgun slaying of his father.

Allen County authorities yesterday said Robert D Hamlin, aged 43, was found dead on Sunday night at his home near Humboldt in Kansas.

Neighbour Carolyn Moore said when she answered the light knock on her front door on Sunday night, she was greeted by a boy wearing only burgundy underwear and holding a shotgun. “There stood this poor, scared, half-naked little boy saying ‘Help me, help me. Hide me. They’re after me’,” she said. “I could see the fear in his eye. He said, ‘They’re going to get me and spank me hard’.”

“The child said, ‘I done something really bad,’” Ms Moore said yesterday, recalling their conversation. “And I said, ‘What did you do?’ “He said, ‘I shot my dad’.”

The boy, whose name was not released, was charged as a juvenile and could be held until age 23 if convicted. A closed juvenile court hearing was conducted in the county seat of Iola, eight miles north of Humboldt, and a judge ordered the case sealed. The father, according to Ms Moore, “would do anything in the world for you. He was a hard worker and took care of his family.” She said he worked at a local factory.

Mr Hamlin was sitting on the living room couch when he was shot in the back of the head with a 20-gauge pump shotgun. His wife, Debbie, and two younger children fled to another neighbour after the shooting. Two other children were coming out of the house when deputies arrived, Sheriff Tom Williams said.

The boy then walked up the road to Mr Moore’s home, carrying the shotgun with one unfired shell, authorities said.

“We believe it to be the weapon and we’ll be testing evidence to show conclusively that it was the shotgun,” Mr Williams said. “We are investigating this as a criminal offence. We are looking at anything that relates to motive.” The boy did not stand out at Humboldt Elementary School, according to Superintendent Bob Heigele.

“He fitted in well with our school and he didn’t have any more problems than any other student. I saw him around and it appeared he was well-liked.”