Staten Island Boy Accused of Murdering Family, Self in Gruesome Crime

[Green_Lantern]

Source: ABC News

A 14-year-old boy from Staten Island is being accused of a horrific crime. Police say C.J. Jones slit the throats of his two sisters before setting their apartment on fire and killing himself. Jones' mother and 2-year-old brother were also killed in the incident, authorities say.
Friends and neighbors are shocked as authorities try to piece together the events of Thursday morning. They describe a good family and a boy that they feel was incapable of committing this unthinkable crime.


However police are reportedly telling a different story, describing C.J. as a troubled teen who had allegedly been caught setting small fires.

According to WABC New York, police say C.J. was ejected from a public pool only a few days before the deadly incident for setting a fire, and neighbors allegedly caught Jones setting paper on fire in front of their building in recent days.

Police are saying the apartment fire was started near the front door and are speculating that it was intended to prevent anyone inside from escaping as well as to make it more difficult for firefighters to enter.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/staten-island-boy-kills-family-slashes-throat/story?id=11236997

[greiner3]

1. Damn;

But that headline needs a lot of work.

[skoalyman]

2. they murdered the headline

terrible story though;( ;( ;(

[Moosepoop]

3. I'm not ready to go with the assumption that this boy did it.

It could be the case, but I think it's rather early and speculative to jump to that conclusion.

Here's another story on it: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/22/2010-07-22_mother_four_children_killed_in_staten_island_house_fire_dozen_more_escape_blaze.html?obref=obnetwork

I can't help but wonder if all of them were murdered, and that this boy's recent history of playing with fire is leading the investigators to assume it was him because there was fire involved.

He reportedly set fire to random small objects such as potato chip bags and pieces of paper. The police are theorizing that the fire in the apartment was set near the front door as a means of keeping responders out. That's quite a leap in ability, going from burning scraps of paper to apartment arson deliberately managed to hinder the responders. Not to mention all of the murders (including, possibly, his).

I dunno, I'm not sure on this one yet...

[mitchum]

6. A knowledgeable arsonist knows that a bag of potato chips is an excellent starter...

for a deliberate fire.
I would not equate his history of using seemingly innocuous materials such as potato chip bags with lack of deliberate and malicious intent.

[Airman Dan]

7. How?

Not being sarcastic here -- how on earth is a potato chip bag a good firestarter?

[Throckmorton]

8. Fried potato chips

full of fry oil, and the plastic coated bag burns well. It is a hide in plan sight type of thing.

[RobinA]

10. Yikers!

It is weird. The kid cut his own throat? That seems little beyond even mental health.

[mikelgb]

4. hopefully they have the accused in custody for murdering himself

[underpants]

5. Mental illness

probably undiagnosed

[proteus_lives]

9. Where are the authoritarians yelling for knife control?

Mental illness, the kid needed help.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. He's dead