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MINDEN, La. — An 11-year-old boy is suspected of using two guns to fatally shoot a woman and her father, an 82-year-old man who once served as mayor, city council member and deputy sheriff in Louisiana, police said Tuesday.
A 911 caller told police on Sunday morning that there were two dead people in a house in the northern city of Minden, said Police Chief Jared McIver, who did not identify the caller. Responding officers found the bodies of Joe Cornelius Sr. and his daughter Keisha Miles, 31, at the residence. The 11-year-old was on the scene at the time, he said.
“The juvenile gave us a story at first that just didn’t add up,” McIver said Tuesday at a news conference. He said eventually the child confessed to the killings while being questioned with an adult relative present. But he said police are still uncertain about his motives. Police originally reported the child’s age as 10 but corrected that Tuesday.
“Who knows why someone would do something this malicious? And at that age,” McIver said.
McIver declined to identify the boy by name or detail his relationship to the victims, citing Louisiana law regarding juvenile suspects.
The child was being held Tuesday on a $500,000 bond for two counts of first-degree murder.
Louisiana law allows juveniles to be tried as adults for first-degree murder and other specified violent crimes, but not if they are under the age of 14. District Attorney Schuyler Marvin told KTBS-TV that conviction on the current charges could result in the child being held in a juvenile facility until he is 21.
Investigators found two hidden weapons of a caliber that matched shell casings found near the bodies, McIver said. He said investigators are doing more testing to confirm that both were used in the slayings. He declined to say what types of firearms were found.
Cornelius was a longtime member of the Minden city council who was appointed mayor for a time in 2013 after the previous mayor died. He was also a former sheriff’s deputy, ward marshal and former funeral home worker who had run programs for youth and helped launch local Black history events.
“Joe Cornelius’ years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community,” Minden Mayor Nick Cox said in a statement. “On a personal note, I am grateful for his friendship and the many ways he supported me and others in our city.”
