Life Sentence For Boy Who Killed A 10-year-old Girl With A Tube

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Aidan Zellmer, a 17-year-old Colorado resident, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to murdering his 10-year-old friend with a metal tube.

The heinous crime shook that state when the body of Kiaya Campbell was discovered who had disappeared in June 2017 in the town of Thornton and who had been beaten to the head, sexually abused and left dying in a ditch. Zellmer, then 15 years old, was later arrested on suspicion of being the author of the murder.

Zellmer pleaded guilty last February to admitting the charges against him of first-degree murder. As part of the negotiations with the boy's lawyers, the prosecution agreed to remove the additional charges of sexual abuse and as a result he could be released on bail in about 40 years.

Zellmer, who is now 17, appeared Monday before the Adams County Court Judge to hear his sentence. The relatives of the victim and the accused's lawyers were also there, as confirmed by an official source to People.

"A 15-year-old makes a bad decision but does not commit a crime as egregious and cruel as this," said Dave Young, Adams County Prosecutor in his deliberations. “After hitting her five times on the head with a metal tube, he left her abandoned in the field. When he spoke to the police he was calm, calm and under control. He cheated and misled the police officers who were looking for him. This is a rare case. Thank God we don't have other fifteen-year-olds doing what he did.”

According to multiple sources, when Zellmet heard the news of her friend's disappearance and death, she did not cry and denied having hurt her. But when investigators continued their investigation, they noticed inconsistencies in the boy's testimony. They later found remnants of their DNA in the crime area.

Kiaya Campbell went missing on June 7 when he went to steal Pokémon cards with Zellmer, as detailed in an affidavit pertaining to the case.

In defense of the boy, his lawyers argued that what happened was due to his problematic history as he was a victim of abuse at home and apparently had mental problems. However, multiple sources assure that to date Zellmer has never shown any remorse for his wrongdoing or for the death of his friend. For his part, Sharon Holbrook, judge in charge of the charge and who issued the sentence on Monday, expressed that the exemplary punishment that was imposed on the accused will not recover the life of the young woman, however, she said that she hoped that he would help the community to close their wounds.