Teen charged with brother’s murder after ‘stray bullet’ story falls apart, TX cops say

When deputies arrived at the rural Texas home, people were already gathered on the back porch around an 8-year-old boy, doing what they could to save his life.

The call came in to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office around 6:20 p.m., Jan. 29, the office said in a statement. A boy had been shot in the head at a home on County Road 2911, the caller said.

The bullet was a stray, deputies were initially told, according to a police statement. It came from a wooded area nearby and struck the boy on the porch.

He later died at Children’s Hospital in Dallas, the sheriff’s office said.

After showing up to the scene, “investigators immediately began searching the area and speaking with neighbors.”

The stray bullet story didn’t stand up to scrutiny, the statement said. Deputies obtained a warrant to search the property, and an autopsy was conducted.

“Investigators have continuously worked this case and the physical evidence recovered from the scene and autopsy show the initial report of how this happened is not possible,” the sheriff’s office announced Feb. 2.

The boy’s 14-year-old brother was arrested on a charge of murder.

There’s “no possible way a stray bullet could have caused this,” Sheriff Botie Hillhouse told KLTV, adding that he believes the boy shot his younger brother deliberately.

The sheriff’s office is determining whether to treat the teen as an adult, the outlet reported.

This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Teen charged with brother’s murder after ‘stray bullet’ story falls apart, TX cops say."