MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Fifth grade boys plead not guilty in plot to rape, murder classmate

Apr 1, 2013, 6:44 AM | Updated: 8:02 am

Two young boys will soon be tried for a plot to murder a classmate.

They’re 10 and 11 years old, but a judge in Stevens County has decided they are competent to stand trial for conspiracy to murder a female classmate.

Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen says the fifth-graders had a handwritten plan listing seven steps which included raping the girl before stabbing her.

That list was submitted as evidence at their mental capacity hearing Friday.

Their plot was discovered when a fellow student saw a knife on one of the boys at Colville Elementary School.

Later, a 45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and ammunition was found in the backpack of the other boy. Both are being held on $100,000 bond. The Spokesman Review reports a psychiatrist for the state, and one for the defense, agree the boys present a danger to the community.

A county judge ruled that the boys understood the nature and consequences of their actions. They pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, witness tampering and juvenile possession of a firearm.

The Associated Press and KIRO Radio’s Kim Shepard contributed to this report.

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