HENRICO, Va.-- The 14-year-old boy charged with second degree murder for the shooting death of 13-year-old Lucia Bremer was denied bond when he appeared via video for his arraignment hearing Monday morning at Henrico County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor because of the suspect's age, her office is still choosing to withhold his name.
However, given the seriousness of the crime, Taylor could still choose to try the 14-year-old as an adult.
Typically under Virginia law, commonwealth's attorneys have a time period of 21 to 31 days to decide whether or not to try a juvenile as an adult, but Taylor said the judge in this case agreed to waive that time period.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions in this tragic case. The commonwealth’s attorney’s office is working to find out if Bremer and the suspect knew each other and what could have led to the shooting.
In the meantime, Taylor believes they have the right person in custody, and she wants the Gayton Forest West subdivision to know they should not feel unsafe in their neighborhood.
“There are a lot of people hurting, and certainly the facts of this case are absolutely horrific," Taylor explained. "But I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the fact we’re talking about a 14-year-old juvenile defendant as well. That young man’s family we have to understand what they might be thinking as well, but right now, we are obviously thinking about the Bremer family. We’re thinking about all of Lucia’s friends and the sorrow they’re dealing with right now."
Bremer’s parents did not appear in court this morning, but Taylor said they’ve been in constant contact with them. She told CBS 6 the suspect did have a guardian inside the courtroom for him, as required.
A status hearing has been set for May 4 at 2:30 p.m.
