12-year-old found not guilty of murder

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Moments after being found not guilty of murder, a 12-year-old boy skipped through the courtroom halls and ran to the vending machine.

A judge found the sixth grader not guilty of killing his 5-week-old cousin, Millan Young, but guilty of two counts of misdemeanor battery in her death.

“What I found is that you did some things wrong," Cobb County Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Poole explained to the boy Friday. "I haven’t found you did something as bad as they say you did.”

The boy, who the AJC is not naming, told the judge that he understood. But it wasn’t until his lawyer and grandmother explained the ruling that tears came to his eyes.

He had only one question: “Can I go home?”

Not yet.

The judge delayed sentencing the boy, who is from Tampa, until Jan. 6. He said he is inclined to give him probation and mandatory counseling.

On July 4, the boy was left alone in the car with the baby while her mother, Brittiany Young of Kennesaw, shopped in a Target store. The mother returned to the car 18 minutes later to find her baby limp and unresponsive.  The baby died a day later of blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy.

Prosecutors said the boy shook the infant and slammed her head against a hard surface.

The boy did not testify in the trial. After his arrest, he told police he accidentally dropped the infant while trying to comfort her. But the medical examiner said the baby's skull fractures were not consistent with his story.

Poole said there was no evidence that the boy intended to harm the baby.

"He was scared and didn’t know what to do so he tried everything he could to get the baby to stop crying. He didn’t know what to do and I don’t expect him to know what to do," the judge said. "In order to get the baby to get quiet, he committed batteries against this baby."

The judge said his ruling became clear when he saw the tiny pink onesie the baby was wearing when she was injured. That’s when he realized just how delicate and small the baby was. An active child like the boy could have easily harmed the baby just by not being careful, he said.

The boy’s attorney requested that he be allowed to live with his great aunt in Alpharetta so he can meet with his probation officer while still going to a regular school.

His mother lives in Tampa and his father is in the military. For now, the boy will remain in a group home in DeKalb County, but can leave to visit family.

Throughout the three-day trial, the judge went to great lengths to make sure the boy understood the proceedings. He took special care to shield him from things a 12-year-old shouldn’t be exposed to – graphic autopsy photos, reporters and explicit language.

The verdict is the end of a tragedy that has tested a close-knit family that often travels between Florida and Georgia to visit each other. At the time of the baby's death, the boy was visiting family in the Atlanta area as he does every summer.

“This family has suffered terrible loss. They lost someone and were at risk of losing another family member,” the boy’s attorney, Derek Wright, said after the verdict. “But there never was a time when the family chose sides, including Brittiany.”

About an hour before the verdict, Brittiany Young sat in the back of the courtroom, quietly weeping as the defense attorney tried to convince the judge that she was responsible for her baby's injuries.

Despite those accusations – which the judge said were wrong – Young still seemed close to the boy and his family.

At one point, the boy’s mother, Camille Curtis, walked over and comforted Young. The women, who are cousins, embraced and cried together for a few minutes before Curtis returned to her seat on the opposite end of the courtroom.

After the verdict, Brittiany Young burst into tears and slipped out the courtroom. She and the boy’s parents declined to comment.

The judge made his ruling immediately after listening to closing arguments. He said was concerned about the boy’s behavior.

“I do believe this child is in needs of services. I find that he is delinquent and in need of treatment, rehabilitation and supervision,” the judge said.

Wright said he thinks the boy –with counseling—can return to a normal life in a few years. He gets As and Bs in school and has no medical problems.

“This child was restored his childhood,” he said. “The ruling goes a long way in saying maybe he did something wrong and something he can learn from.”