KENTWOOD (WKZO) — Jury selection is underway to decide the fate of what may be the youngest person ever tried for murder as an adult in West Michigan.
Jamarion Lawhorn was just 12 in August of last year when he allegedly stabbed a boy he had just met at a Kentwood playground to death. 9-year-old Connor Verkerke died from multiple stab wounds.
Lawhorn then turned himself in to the first officer who arrived at the scene, confessing to investigators that he thought that by killing someone else, he too would be put to death.
We have since learned that the youngster was driven to the desparate action by abusive parents living in squalor. Both parents have been stripped of their parental rights and stand charged with child abuse.
A state investigation says Jamarion and his siblings should have been removed from the home by Child Protective Services, who failed to perform their duties.
He may be tried as an adult, but the trial is being conducted in Family Court and he will likely be sentenced as a Juvenile.
