The double homicide allegedly committed by an 11-year old boy in Minden has stunned and saddened a community that has lost a former interim mayor, who had also served as a longtime city councilman, sheriff’s deputy and ward marshal, along with his daughter. The child is now held on a $500,000 bond on two counts of first degree murder in the shootings deaths of his grandfather, 82-year-old Joe Cornelius Sr., and 31-year-old Keisha Miles.
![A 911 call early Sunday [September 1, 2024] morning led authorities to a home at 100 Austin Street in Minden, Louisiana where two dead people were discovered inside.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dcda4ef/2147483647/strip/true/crop/964x587+0+0/resize/840x512!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F32%2Fa7%2F95e7958d4a54aa202cdb5437fa9f%2Fminden-murders-location-google-maps.png)
Police Chief Jared McIver says when investigators arrived at Cornelius’ home Sunday morning, two juveniles were home at the time. McIver says investigators quickly focused their investigation on one of the juveniles. “The juvenile gave us a story first that just didn’t add up. Investigators continued on with the interview and later on got a confession from this juvenile, who we were told at first was 10 years of age but is confirmed to be 11 years of age.” During a news conference on Tuesday, Chief McIver also said the boys motives remain unclear.
As the Associated Press reported, authorities confirm they found two hidden weapons of a caliber that matched shell casings found near the bodies. Under Louisiana law, the juvenile under arrest in the homicides is not old enough to be charged as an adult because he is under 14 years of age. That means even if found guilty in juvenile court he would still be released at the age of 21.
But the laws on prosecuting juveniles in adult court differ depending on the state, as seen in the graphic (above) from the Journal of Criminal Justice and Law (JCJL).
