A California teenager suspected of murdering his 17-year-old sister turned himself in on Wednesday. Repots say the teenager, 14-year-old Mario Toliver Jr., allegedly shot and killed his sister because of a fight over laundry.
Toliver surrendered to authorities at the Oakland Police Department after being on the lam for nearly a week. On Jan. 23, Toliver fled his apartment in Oakland Chinatown after shooting his sister, Justice Toliver, the New York Daily News reported. The brother and sister had allegedly fought because she accidentally bleached his clothes.
Mario Toliver lived in the Franklin Street apartment with his grandmother and his sister, who was the mother of a 2-year-old girl. Mario's family and friends pleaded with him to surrender.
"I do want to thank the family and friends who were in constant contact with this young man, trying to persuade him to turn himself in," Sergeant Mike Gantt, who investigated the murder, told KGO-TV. "And I want to take my hat off to them because they did something that was a great job."
Surveillance footage shows Mario leaving the fifth floor apartment, walking down the hallway holding a gun, KGO-TV reported. Mario's family said the siblings had argued over Mario's laundry.
"It doesn't make sense to me," Thomas Chak, a cousin, told KGO-TV. "If that's the reason for him to cause that, that's crazy," Chak said.
Another cousin, Greg Stewart, told NBC Bay Area that the brother and sister had their issues but they "loved each other."
John Burris, whose firm represents the Toliver family, said Mario did not shoot Justice over laundry and that he was deeply regretful, NBC Bay Area reported.
"He is not a hardened criminal," Burris said.
Police have not yet officially determined the motive.
Mario's family created a donation site to raise funds for Justice's funeral.
