Imagine your son is on his high school soccer team. When he misses practice and no one knows where he is, the first thing his parents do is report him missing to the police. He never tries to miss soccer practice.
The parents of the high school teen involved in this real-life crime couldn't find him for 24 hours. Local authorities found his truck on the side of the road. They found a key in the ignition and blood in the cab. They later found the teen shirtless and barefoot walking around near where they found the truck.
He claimed he had no recollection of what happened to him. Upon further investigation, authorities questioned his story because he did not look 'rough' and his feet had not appeared bare for some time.
At another site, an employer asked authorities to conduct a welfare check on a 51-year-old man who had missed several shifts. The man's mother opened her son's home for her authorities. They found her son dead, someone had shot him multiple times. His unharmed German Shepherd dog lay next to him.
Authorities, unaware that the two scenes were connected, launched a murder investigation. A review of security footage from just days before the murder was believed to have shown the missing football player, 16, and his friend, 17, breaking into the victim's home through an open door.
Linking the two crimes, the footballer's father told police that his son had been at the man's house because a member of the cycling club had instructed him to steal items from the house of his son's mother's ex-boyfriend. The murdered man was a member of the bike club, but authorities found no connection to the two teens. However, the murdered man and the footballer's mother were in a romantic relationship, which may have influenced the motive for the murder.
The football player showed authorities where he threw the handgun. One of them matched the caliber used in the murder.
They charged both teens as adults and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The judge making the ruling said this:
“The crimes committed were horrific and deliberate.” She also said, “I am not happy to preside over this sentencing.”
She sentenced both boys to the following: 12 years or more in prison.