RELATED: Prosecutors: Teen accused of killing brother should be tried as adult
A Clark County Juvenile Court judge has decided to move Starling’s case to adult court, Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said.
The move is to properly punish the alleged crime, Wilson said, and to protect the public.
“When you bludgeon your little brother to death with a baseball bat and then stab him with a knife, at that point you need to be punished for it and the public needs to be protected from you,” the prosecutor said.
The decision was made after the judge heard arguments from Wilson and Nicholas Starling’s attorney on Monday. According to Ohio law, if prosecutors present enough evidence for a judge to decide probable cause in a case, a 16-year-old must be tried in an adult court on charges of murder, Wilson said.
“There are certain crimes that are so severe,” he said.
Defense lawyers had argued the case should be dismissed because of the teen’s age.
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Harley was found dead in his bed at his Superior Avenue home on the morning of Oct. 31. He had been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed several times in the neck, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Nicholas Starling allegedly confessed to killing his brother by beating him with a baseball bat and then stabbing him, police said.
Springfield Police Division Detective Ron Jordan testified in Monday’s hearing that Nicholas Starling admitted he and his brother had been in a previous argument over Halloween candy, according to court records.
Nicholas Starling told detectives he later went into his brother’s room while he was sleeping, and struck him in the head with a baseball bat 14 to 15 times. The teen then stabbed his brother with a knife in the neck, according to court records, to stop the “noise” the younger brother was making after the beating.
The interview with Nicholas was taped, Jordan said, although the video was not shown in court on Monday.
The teen had been held in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center in Springfield since the time of his arrest.
Nicholas Starling was transferred Monday night to the Clark County Jail on a $100,000 bond, according to court records.
The case is scheduled to be presented to a Clark County grand jury on Nov. 28, Wilson said, but denied to comment on what charges prosecutors will ask the grand jury to approve.
“There are certainly options to add other charges,” he said on top of the murder and tampering with evidence charges he’s currently being held on.
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