A 16-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly stabbing his mother to death in her home in the Twin Lakes neighborhood in the north of the city.
The stabbing occurred shortly after midnight Saturday at a home in the 3000 block of Shadow Fax Drive.
The Springfield Police Department was alerted by an emergency call.
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Deputy Police Chief Sara Pickford, reached on Sunday, said police found the teenager at the scene.
The teenager was taken to police headquarters for questioning and eventually arrested for premeditated murder, aggravated domestic violence, aggravated assault and unlawful use of weapons.
He was then taken to a juvenile detention center outside Springfield.
The Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center on South Dirksen Parkway has been closed since the shooting of a teenager by a Springfield police officer on Sept. 30. The teenager was armed with a gun when he attempted to leave the facility.
The victim of Saturday’s incident, a 51-year-old woman, suffered numerous stab wounds, Pickford said.
She was taken to Springfield Memorial Hospital for treatment but did not survive and was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m., Pickford said.
Neither man was named by Springfield police. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
Pickford could not immediately confirm that the teenager lived there or whether anyone else was present during the stabbing.
Sangamon County District Attorney John Milhiser called it “a tragic case.”
His office is still reviewing the case to determine whether to file formal charges.
Under Illinois law, upon reaching age 16, certain charges, including first-degree murder, automatically result in a transfer to adult court, although the defense attorney may contest the transfer.
In the April 24 shooting death of Southeast High School student Keyon Day, one of the defendants was 16 years old and was tried in adult court.
The prosecution also has the right to bring charges against persons under the age of 16 in adult court if it applies to the juvenile court and the judge grants the application. This is what happened in the Day case with a suspect who was 15 at the time.
This story will be updated.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; [email protected]; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
