12-year-old boy Isaiah, accused of fatally stabbing his younger sister, Leila, denied a second-degree murder charge through his attorney in juvenile court on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The boy's lawyer said he plans a strong defense. If convicted, Isaiah Fowler could be incarcerated until his 23rd birthday.
"Our view of the case hasn't changed," one of his lawyers Mark Reichel said after the hearing. "We got in believing our client was innocent, and as we stand here, that's what we believe."
Judge John E. Martin said that Isaiah must be do back in court for a juevenile trial on July 31. "We're concerned about whether or not a 12-year-old can actively participate in his own defense," his lawyer added.
Isaiah was charged with second-degree murder charges on May 15, two weeks after he said an intruder killed his 8-year-old sister Leila Fowler, which set off a massive manhunt in the quiet town of Valley Springs, in northern California.
Isaiah has been charged with second-degree murder with a special allegation for use of a dangerous weapon. He originally told investigators that he found his sister's body and encountered an intruder inside their Valley Springs home while their parents were at a Little League game on April 27. He said he saw a tall man with long gray hair fleeing the house when he came inside, CBS Local Sacramento reported.
Reichel, however, described his client as "a very normal boy in a very normal setting with normal siblings," but told the court room he was suspended for five days in January for bringing a "tiny little Swiss Army knife" to class.
Isaiah and Leila lived with their father and longtime fiancee in a blended family of seven children. Court records show that his father, Barney, a boat mechanic, had suffered massive child-support problems with three women, including the mother of Leila and Isaiah who claimed in a court declaration last year that she is both homeless and indigent, reports said.
