A 15-year-old boy in Texas was arrested this week on suspicion of killing his 62-year-old neighbor by cutting her several times in her backyard. Police say they found Dana Magnuson dead in her bloody shed in the backyard after the attack earlier this month.
The 15-year-old neighbor who is thought to have killed the man has not been named because of his age. But Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated that the teen had been charged with murder in connection with Magnuson’s death and was being held at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center.
Deputies were called to the Magnuson family home in the 20800 block of Sunshine Meadow Drive, about 40 miles northwest of Houston, at about 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, 2024, after a 911 call. When first rescuers got to the scene, they said they saw the body of an adult woman, later identified as Magnuson, who looked like she had been stabbed several times. The doctors said she was dead at the scene.
Before the police came, the attacker ran away on foot from the scene.
“Our condolences go out to the victim’s family and everyone who has been affected by this tragic death,” Sheriff Gonzalez wrote on X, which used to be Twitter. “Once again, our Homicide Investigators did a great job. They worked hard on this case.”
Magnuson was also called “active in the community” and “beloved by everyone who knew her,” Gonzalez said.
Investigators think that the teen started the attack while the older woman was in the hot tub in the backyard, according to KTRK, a Houston ABC station. Magnuson’s body was found in the shed in the backyard. It is thought that a fight broke out, and Magnuson died in the shed as a result.
According to several sources who spoke to KTRK, the teen told police that he only wanted to try stabbing someone after being caught.
One of the boy’s lawyers, Jon Stephenson, told the station that the family is waiting to see the proof against him.
“These are just preliminary reports; the State has not yet filed a petition,” he said. “We are excited to see the proof they really have.” He comes from a good family and is a good kid. We are trying to find out what happened.
Tyler Pitney, Magnuson’s son, talked to KRIV in Houston about his mother and the person who is thought to have killed her.
He said the teen lived next door and knew his mother. The teen often helped his mother with chores and yard work.
Pitney said this about the juvenile defendant: “Nothing out of the ordinary, normal-looking kid, looks like he comes from a good home.”
Pitney also gave a slightly different account of what happened than what the police have said in public. The police officer told him that his mother had been attacked after coming home from riding her bike. He also said that his mother’s body was dragged into the shed after the attack.
Pitney talked about a horrible scene.
“There was still blood everywhere—here, there, and on the doors.” “I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” he told the station. “She had the most loving heart and the nicest, sweetest personality anyone had ever met.” Someone killed a real angel.
Also, Pitney said that his family hoped the teen would be charged as an adult. Prosecutors haven’t decided yet if they will go through the process needed to charge teens as adults in Texas.