VALLEY SPRINGS, Calif. — A day before a 12-year-old boy was arrested for the stabbing death of his 8-year-old sister, his mother described him as ‘‘protective’’ of his younger sibling.
Leila Fowler’s killing last month shook the quiet community of Valley Springs, southeast of Sacramento, and set off an intense manhunt. Her brother was in the home at the time and told police he saw a man run from the scene....
On Friday, as speculation built that the boy was involved....
A day later, police delivered stunning news: The 12-year-old boy had been arrested and will be charged with homicide.
For a community still reeling from the killing, the news was another blow....
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Translation: the police have no leads and they had to arrest someone.
FLASHBACK:
"Fatal stabbing of girl, 8, prompts Calif. search" Associated Press, April 29, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO — Residents of a rural Northern California county were being told Sunday to keep their doors locked and report anyone considered suspicious as authorities searched for the killer of an 8-year-old girl.
Calaveras County deputies and law enforcement officials from nearby agencies were looking for a suspect after Leila Fowler was found stabbed in her Valley Springs home around noon Saturday.
The girl was found by her brother — reported by local media to be 12-years-old — after he encountered a male intruder in the home.
When the intruder ran away, the boy found his sister stabbed. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital, officials said.
Authorities spent Saturday night and into Sunday conducting a door-to-door sweep of homes scattered across hilly terrain, checking storage sheds and horse stables, and even searching attics.
Marathon memories.
‘‘It is a difficult area to search, it’s rural, remote,’’ sheriff’s Captain Jim Macedo said.
Reverse 911 calls and electronic mass notifications alerted area residents about the incident and the search for the suspect, officials said.
Investigators on Sunday were interviewing several people, but no suspects had been named.
Television station KCRA reported that a neighbor told police that a man was running from the girl’s home.
The suspect was seen wearing a black shirt and blue pants. Authorities said they consider him armed and dangerous.
Investigators were asking area residents to call authorities if they had any information, or knew of anyone who may have unexplained injuries, or may have left the area unexpectedly after the girl was killed.
Valley Springs is a community of about 2,500 people in an unincorporated area of Calaveras County 60 miles southeast of Sacramento.
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Yeah, who wants to do any investigating? Maybe they will even scrub it up like the Cleveland cops and say they never even got a call.
