A teenage Texas boy pleaded guilty to beating a 5-year-old boy to death with a bowling ball on Wednesday.
The 14-year-old, whose identity has not been released, pleaded guilty to capital murder in a Fort Worth courtroom at around 10 a.m. After reaching a plea deal with prosecutors, he received 23 years in prison for the crime.
The teen was accused of killing Sida Osman, who was found dead in the backyard of an abandoned home in the 4800 block of Lois Street on June 26, just one day after he'd gone out for a bike ride and never came back.
According to the Star-Telegram, Fort Worth law enforcement officials arrested the teen one day after they'd discovered Osman's remains. Following a detention hearing, investigators found out that the teen had informed some of his peers that he'd smacked Osman two times in the head with a bowling ball because he became short-tempered with him.
The prosecution read these statements during the trial on Wednesday morning, which reported that two teenagers said they'd discovered the teen weeping, admitting that he'd killed Osman.
The teen told law enforcement officials that the child was nagging him to take him to the store, and his requests were starting to get on his nerves. After the teen dealt the first blow, striking the 5-year-old in the head, Osman crumpled to the ground. He leapt on top of the younger boy and hit him one more time, "similar to a football player spiking a football."
Prosecutors will be allowed to seek "determinate sentencing" against the teen, which might stretch the span of his punishment if he's convicted. His 23-year sentencing could be ramped up to 40 years behind bars.
The teen, who was 13 years old when he committed the murder, asked to give a statement before the hearing ended. He stood up, turned around at his chair, and cried as he scanned the courtroom.
"I just want the family to know I'm sorry," the Star-Telegram reported him as saying.
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