I’ve previously posted about the murder of 14-year-old Jose Nunez here and here. To quickly summarize, the 14-year-old Nunez from Bridgeport, Connecticut was allegedly being groomed by 19-year-old Diante Willoughby over Snapchat. Willoughby is said to have strangled Nunez to death before dumping his body in Oxford, Connecticut.
Now, an unnamed 14-year-old suspect has turned himself in to police. Bridgeport police had issued a warrant for the teen’s arrest. While no details of the 14-year-old’s involvement have been released, he has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
It is possible that the 14-year-old suspect could be charged as an adult. From what I’ve researched, according to Connecticut law, A juvenile who is at least age 14 may be treated as an adult if he is charged with certain serious offenses, would not benefit from treatment or care at an available facility, and is a danger to society. I would imagine the level of involvement the 14-year-old had in Jose Nunez’s murder will determine if he is tried as an adult.
Getting back to Diante Willoughby though, there was something I saw in the media that caught my eye. Willoughby allegedly tried to justify the murder to police. According to investigators, Willoughby claims that Jose Nunez was trying to blackmail Willoughby with explicit pictures of the 19-year-old and that Nunez even tried to rob him at one point with a BB gun. Police have been unable to substantiate these claims. Even if they were true, this is no excuse for murder or to get another 14-year-old boy involved in it.
In case you were wondering, Connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2012.
(Sources)
Second teen charged in killing of 14-year-old Bridgeport boy
