ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A 5-year-old boy was killed in Arapahoe County this week and his 11-year-old brother is now under investigation for first-degree murder, deputies with the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.
Little is known at this time about what lead to the child’s death, but Arapahoe County deputies said they responded to a home on South Jericho Street near the intersection with South Jericho Way in Centennial at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Investigators said they later determined the suspect was the victim’s 11-year-old brother. The case is now being investigated as a homicide, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
The child suspect — who will not be identified because of his age — was in custody at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services in Centennial, the sheriff's office spokesperson said.
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"It is with great sadness that I want to share with you that one of our Kindergarten students has died unexpectedly," Timberline Elementary Principal Mary Bowens said in a letter to parents on Wednesday. "There is currently an active police investigation and law enforcement asked the District not to release the student’s name."
Bowens said the district would offer additional district mental health staff "to support students and staff in processing this loss" on Friday. Other resources were available on the Cherry Creek School District's website.
“Our hearts go out to the family of these two young boys and to everyone in our community who is grieving this loss,” said Sheriff Tyler Brown. “Cases involving the homicide of children are among the most difficult our deputies and investigators face. Our team is fully committed to a thorough investigation, and we will continue working tirelessly to determine exactly what happened."
On Wednesday, Denver7 was in the neighborhood as Arapahoe County deputies investigated with drones and K-9's.
Neighbors told us they were struggling to process what happened.
"It's really hard to accept something like this," neighbor Judy Rowse said. "I've known this neighborhood for a long time, and yeah, it's very hard to hear this."
Despite the shock, long-time neighbor Meher Noorulamin said she is not rushing to judgment — and instead is reaching out to the boy's family with compassion.
"I think it's so easy to say, how did the parents not know? How did this happen? But without judgment, neighbor to neighbor, we're here for you," said Noorulamin.
The 5-year-old boy’s cause of death remains under investigation.
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