Two American Commits Murder After Sexually Abused
Curtis and Catherine were two American siblings who were sexually abused by a family member before planning a way to escape through murder. They were 12 and 13 respectively.
The duo lived with their father and his girlfriend in their Florida home. Another male relative who was a convicted sex offender also lived with them; he even shared a bed with Curtis.
Catherine and his brother complained several times to their father about the abuse they were suffering at the hands of his male relative, but he and his girlfriend thought they were making things up.
They decided to kill everyone in the family out of anger. On that fateful day in 1999, they shot their father’s girlfriend, killing her with four bullets.
They were arrested and charged as adults. They remain the youngest people in America to be charged as adults for first degree murder.
They were cajoled into taking a plea deal for 18 years in prison. They accepted the deal and pled guilty to second-degree murder. The case was closed without further investigation.
When Pado Annino, a professor of law, later looked into the case, he found several documents registered with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) that showed the children were really being sexually abused.
They may have gotten a more reduced sentence if their claims were looked into.
