KEARNS, Utah, March 28, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A 15-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter after the shooting death of his 16-year-old stepbrother.
The older teen died on March 18 in a Kearns residence near 5000 West and 5400 South.
The younger teen originally told Unified Police officials that the older boy shot himself while playing with a shotgun, according to court documents. The victim died from a bullet to the head, police said at the scene.
But a subsequent report from the Medical Examiner’s office concluded that the downward-angled wound on victim’s head was not an exit wound as initially assumed, but was actually the bullet’s entry point, making it unlikely the victim fired the fatal shot.
The younger teen was charged Wednesday in juvenile court with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and with obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony, in connection with the death of the older teen.
The 15-year-old suspect will not be tried as an adult, so Gephardt Daily will not release his name due to his age.
