RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- Court documents obtained by CBS 6 News are shedding new light on the home life of the teenager accused of killing eight-year-old Marty Cobb and assaulting his sister.
The suspect's mother, Faith Turner, was arrested and charged with child abuse and reckless disregard for life in August of 2008.
We also learned that his mother was found guilty of assault and battery in Chesterfield County for an incident that happened back in 2011.
Those court documents also reveal the victim, who was ten at the time, is the same boy now charged with murder in South Richmond.
Turner ended up pleading no contest, and was ordered by the court to take parenting classes at Richmond's Stop Child Abuse Now organization.
The court documents said she successfully completed those classes, but that in 2010, her son was charged and found guilty of attacking a three year old boy with a hammer.
“This is a pretty common problem to see this cycle continue,” CBS Legal Analyst Todd Stone said after we showed him the documents.
While the court documents do not explain exactly what happened that day back in August of 2008, they do show that Turner stated she was going to pay bills, and was only gone for 10 or 15 minutes.
Stone said the documents could help the defense if the teen is sentenced.
“Maybe he can unlearn the behavior and be amenable to treatment,” Stone said.
Turner pleaded no contest and her charged was reduced to a misdemeanor. She was ordered by the court to take parenting classes at Richmond’s Stop Child Abuse Now, or SCAN, organization.
According to court records, Turner successfully completed those classes making “significant progress in her ability to manage her children’s behavior.”
The records show she also “reported a change in her approach to discipline.”
“They work hard at teaching parents how to be better parents in the home so that cycle from one generation to the next can be broken,” Stone said about SCAN.
Four years later, that same boy, now 16, is accused of killing Cobb and assaulting his 12-year-old sister.
Investigators said they were attacked two weeks ago near the train tracks behind their neighborhood in the 200 block of Brandon Road in South Richmond.
The teen was sentenced to receive mental health treatment. CBS 6 News is not releasing the name of the suspect, because he has not yet been charged as an adult.
We also learned that his mother was found guilty of assault and battery in Chesterfield County for an incident that happened back in 2011.
