A 10-year-old confessed to police that he fatally shot a man in 2022 when he was seven years old.
According to the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office, 32-year-old Brandon O’Quinn Rasberry was fatally shot in the head while sleeping in his RV in Nixon, Texas, in early 2022. The case had gone cold for more than two years until the child made a recent comment about having killed a man with a gun two years ago.
At the time, authorities had spoken to all witnesses. Despite having received several leads, they were unable to locate the suspect.
On April 12, the principal of a Nixon-Smiley Independent School District contacted authorities after the 1-year-old student threatened to kill another student while on the bus. They subsequently conducted a threat assessment, according to the sheriff’s office.
School district officials also told authorities that the 10-year-old had previously talked about having shot and killed a man two years ago.
Based on what they had shared at school, criminal investigators determined that he may have knowledge regarding the homicide.
Jeff Van Auken, the school district’s superintendent, said in a letter addressed to parents that the child would not be returning to the elementary school.
The 10-year-old was ultimately taken to a child advocacy center, where he underwent a forensic interview. It was then that they confirmed he had first-hand knowledge about Rasberry’s death.
According to authorities, the child was visiting his grandfather at the time, who lived in the same RV park as the victim. During his visit, he found a pistol in his grandfather’s truck and took it with him to Rasberry’s RV.
He then approached and shot Rasberry, who was asleep in his RV. The bullet struck the man in the head once, according to the sheriff’s office.
Before leaving the RV, however, he shot the pistol a second time, into the couch. He then left Rasberry’s RV and returned the gun to his grandfather’s truck.
Authorities said the child was not acquainted with Rasberry, though he had seen him walking around the park earlier in the day. When asked if he was mad at Rasberry, or if he had ever done anything to make him angry, he replied ‘no’.
According to the child, his grandfather had pawned the pistol, which officials were able to track down at a local Seguin pawn shop.
Authorities conducted a forensic analysis of the two recovered shell casings and found that the pawned weapon was the same gun used in the murder.
Due to the severity of the case, and concern for the child’s mental wellbeing, he was placed on an emergency detention for 72 hours. He was later transported to a San Antonio psychiatric hospital, where he underwent evaluation and treatment.
He was then taken to the sheriff’s office, where he was charged with making a terroristic threat on the school bus.
According to the press release, he is being detained at Gonzales County Juvenile Probation, where he is awaiting his court date.
Legally, a child under the age of 10 cannot be held responsible for criminal acts in Texas. Since he was 7 years old at the time of the incident, the attorney’s office will not accept or file murder charges, according to the sheriff’s office.
