Brother does not enter plea in murder case

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Barney Fowler, the father of murder victim Leila Fowler, leaves the Calaveras County Courthouse on Wednesday in San Andreas, after the arraignment of his 12-year-old son, who is accused of killing his younger sister.AP

Audio: Partial 911 call in Leila Fowler murder

SAN ANDREAS - A 12-year-old boy accused of killing his sister uttered few words and displayed little emotion as he was indicted for murder Wednesday in a Calaveras County courtroom.

Making his first court appearance since being arrested Saturday on suspicion of homicide, the boy sat quietly beside his attorneys in a dark-colored jumpsuit with chains around his waist. Superior Court Judge John E. Martin read the charges aloud, telling the boy he was being tried for murder with malice aforethought and special circumstances for the stabbing death of his sister, 8-year-old Leila Fowler.

The boy did not enter a plea but answered "yes" when asked if he understood his rights, the charges against him and procedural steps in the juvenile court system.

Martin denied a defense motion to have the courtroom closed to the public, granted the defense's request for a two-week continuance and ruled that the boy would be held in juvenile hall until his next hearing, set for May 29.

Relatives of the accused killer and the slain girl sat in the front row but declined to comment after the hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes.

County District Attorney Barbara Yook and defense attorneys Steve Plesser and Mark Reichel spoke briefly outside the courthouse. Yook explained the boy cannot be tried as an adult because he is younger than 14, and he could be held in a youth correctional facility until his 23rd birthday if convicted.

"If he was an adult, he would be facing 16 years to life in prison," Yook said. "By law, he has to be tried as a juvenile, so the maximum time he can serve is until he's 23."

Plesser and Reichel said they wouldn't answer questions, but Reichel responded when asked how the boy was doing.

"My client is holding up very well under difficult circumstances," he said.

In prepared remarks, Plesser touched on the defense's request for a continuance, saying he and Reichel didn't join the defense team until Monday evening.

"We were only recently retained," he said. "We've had very little time to spend with the minor and his family, but we have had the chance to talk to them, to get to know them and visit with them about the case. We have no reason to have any doubts about our client's innocence after these meetings. We haven't seen any of the evidence yet, but we look forward to seeing that evidence."

Authorities said they believe the boy stabbed his sister to death inside their home on Rippon Road in Valley Springs on April 27. The boy blamed the attack on an intruder, sparking a 15-day manhunt involving more than 2,000 hours of investigation utilizing local, state and federal resources.

The manhunt failed to turn up clues, but early last week, authorities said DNA evidence collected at the scene produced a "positive" result. Days later, Leila's brother was arrested.

"We have a lot of the same questions you do," Plesser said. "Why do the police think the minor did it? What forensic evidence is out there? How solid is it? How is it possible for a 12-year-old to commit an offense like this? Why would a 12-year-old commit an offense like this? How could a 12-year-old commit an offense like this in such a way that would not lead to an immediate arrest and would take 2,000 hours of law enforcement resources and FBI resources before they felt it pointed toward him?

"Those are questions we want answers to. We're confident that we're going to get those answers when we examine and test the evidence and get a chance to confront it in court."


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