A 14-year-old suburban Chicago girl accused of fatally stabbing her 11-year-old half-sister has reportedly been offered a plea deal that could end her case by the end of January.
The Chicago Tribune reports the Lake County State’s attorney’s office made the plea offer to attorneys representing the young teen and the deal is expected to be reviewed with the girl and her family. Whether they plan to accept or deny the offer is scheduled to be determined at a hearing set for Jan. 27 at the Deple Juvenile Justice Complex in Vernon Hills, the Tribune reported.
Details surrounding the deal were not immediately available.
The teen, whom NBC Chicago is not naming, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder last January and remained charged as a juvenile. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office could still motion to have the case transferred to adult court, but a plea deal would ultimately avoid trial.
Judge Valerie Ceckowski explained that if tried as a juvenile, the teen will have a bench trial and could be sentenced to juvenile detention or a separate residential facility until age 21. The judge also ordered the teen be evaluated by a psychologist.
Authorities were called to a home on the 1600 block of Woodhaven Court in Mundelein last January on a report of an unconscious juvenile. Once there, they found the 11-year-old dead in a bedroom. The coroner said the girl had been stabbed 30 times in the neck, chest and arms.
Prosecutors said that after the stabbing, the 14-year-old girl called police and told them there was a Hispanic male intruder stabbing her little sister. She again told the story at the crime scene and during police interviews. When detectives told her later in the afternoon they had strands of hair that would eventually point to the real suspect, the girl admitted she did it, prosecutors said. She submitted oral and written statements indicating she committed the crime because the younger girl didn't appreciate her, officials said.
