11-year-old boy faces trial over mother’s shooting death

MILWAUKEE (WISN) - An 11-year-old Milwaukee boy is set to stand trial in adult court for allegedly murdering his mother.

Police said he was just 10 at the time, and relatives said his motive might have involved a virtual reality headset.

In court, the boy very much looks his age despite facing the most serious felony there is: first-degree intentional homicide

By court order, he’s not being identified because of the possibility he could yet be moved to children’s court.

Milwaukee police were called to his home near 87th and Calumet for what was first thought to be an accidental shooting.

They found the body of the boy’s mother, 44-year-old Quiana Mann, in the basement. She had been shot in the head.

A detective on the scene that day recalled in court Tuesday his conversation with the boy about what happened

“Originally, he informed me that he wasn’t sure what had occurred, that he had just found his mother in the basement and believed that she was deceased,” detective Tim Keller said.

Sitting in court as the boy alternately played with a toy and colored, the detective testified he did question him the next day when he says the 10-year-old admitted shooting her but called it an accident.

“He stated that he took up a shooting stance and was pointing the gun at her as she was walking towards him and asking him to put it down, and that’s when he indicated that he fired the gun with his intent to scare her by shooting the wall behind her,” Keller said.

And as relatives told police, there could be a possible motive.

“He had made a purchase on his mother’s Amazon account for some virtual reality goggles the morning after this homicide occurred, and that they were concerned because he had had an argument with her about whether or not he could have these prior to the homicide,” Keller said.

The boy’s attorneys are indicating they’ll try to move the trial to juvenile court.

That would subject him to a significantly lighter sentence.

Copyright 2023 WISN via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.