Teen shoots and kills 5-year-old because he was ‘going to snitch,’ Michigan cops say
A 16-year-old killed a 5-year-old’s mom and her boyfriend, then shot and killed the boy because he said he was afraid the child was “going to snitch” on him, according to Michigan prosecutors and news outlets.
Malcolm Ray Hardy, now 18, was sentenced to 28 to 60 years in prison on three second-degree murder charges in the the 2022 killings, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
The three victims — Aaron Benson, 32; LaShon Marshall, 28; Caleb Harris, 5 — were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds Feb. 18, 2022, and Hardy was arrested Feb. 23, Wayne County prosecutors said in a Feb. 25, 2022, news release.
Benson’s cousin had gone to the home after not hearing from him for several days, prosecutors said, and he found the three victims dead.
“The child was in his bedroom. Was in his bedroom on the floor. It was clearly his bedroom. Just a very tragic scene,” Detroit Police Chief James White told WXYZ.
Hardy, then 16 years old, was charged as an adult with three counts of murder, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to those charges May 24, according to court records.
In court, Hardy’s friend testified that Hardy first shot Benson during an altercation, then shot the victim’s girlfriend, who was also the child’s mother, accidentally before he fatally shot her in the head, according to Newsweek.
Then, the friend testified that Hardy believed the child was “going to snitch on him,” so he fatally shot the 5-year-old in the leg and head, according to Newsweek.
“Caleb, the name you should never forget didn’t get to see life beyond the age of five. You took life from a precious baby who was innocent,” Chenell Marshall, LaShon Marshall’s sister, said in a statement during Hardy’s sentencing, according to Fox 2.
This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Teen shoots and kills 5-year-old because he was ‘going to snitch,’ Michigan cops say."
