Police allege that the boy stole the gun used in the shooting one week before the incident, after getting into a fight with his mother over a math grade
Credit: Laramie County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- A 14-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his mother
- Police allege that the boy shot his mother after an argument over a stolen tablet
- The boy initially claimed his mother died by suicide, police allege, but later admitted to being angry before the shooting, per reports
A 14-year-old boy in Wyoming is being charged with the first-degree murder of his mother, according to multiple reports.
According to a news release from the Laramie County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the 2300 block of Pine Avenue for a report of a 41-year-old female with a gunshot wound to the head on Saturday, March 7.
The woman, later identified by Cowboy State Daily, Oil City News, and Wyoming News as Theresa McIntosh, was unconscious but breathing, with a visible gunshot wound to the back of her head.
She was transferred to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) before being life-flighted to UC Health in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The juvenile was taken into custody, and initially, Wyoming News reported that he allegedly told the Laramie County Sheriff's Office that his mother had died by suicide.
CRMC staff, however, did not find a "contact wound" that would be typical of suicide attempts involving firearms, Wyoming News reported, citing court documents.
At the time of the incident, the only other people in the home were McIntosh’s common-law husband and the 14-year-old suspect, Oil City News reported, citing a Laramie County Sheriff’s Office affidavit.
In court documents obtained by local news outlet Cowboy State Daily, Leone allegedly told investigators that at the time of the incident, McIntosh had been completing a puzzle in his room. That morning, the two had argued over a tablet that McIntosh accused the boy of stealing from a client of her house-cleaning business. The boy allegedly told police that his mother called him names, including "thief."
Law enforcement alleges that the suspect stole the firearm used in the shooting a week prior, after he and his mom were reportedly involved in a "big fight" over his math grade, per Oil City News.
Credit: Theresa McIntosh/Facebook
“He was angry right before he shot McIntosh and couldn’t tell her how much he hated her because she doesn’t understand him,” Deputy Miles DePrimo wrote in an affidavit of probable cause, per Cowboy State Daily. “He was mad McIntosh was calling him names."
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“[He] has thought about killing McIntosh in the past, specifically when she would make him do things he didn’t want to do," DePrimo alleged in the affidavit.
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