A 15-year-old teen boy wanted by police and previously caught trying to enter Canada has been charged with the murder of his grandmother.
Joanna Pasceri, a spokesperson for the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, said Mott was charged as an adult with the murder of his grandmother. She said that the teen faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for Mott over the murder in a tweet.
Authorities said they found some guns along with the weapon used to kill French where at his father’s house.
“Anytime you kill anyone it’s tragic. But ... allegedly to kill your grandmother, that takes it to another level,” said Erie County, New York, District Attorney John Flynn, WJXT reported.
However, Mott’s New York defense attorney, Dominic Saraceno, said the information in the arrest warrant doesn’t prove anything.
“It doesn’t prove anything,” Saraceno said after the hearing. “There is no motive. No confession. There could be dozens of alternative theories on what happened.”
Mott’s mother, Carrie Campbell-Mott, from Missouri, arrived in New York on Tuesday. The mother told WJXT that she is very concerned and cannot believe her son committed the crime.
Saraceno has pushed for a delay in the case, as the extradition hearing was postponed to 9:30 a.m. Friday later this week.
“We are talking about a 15-year-old boy being charged with the most serious charge in the penal code,” Saraceno said. “We have to do our due diligence and follow the proper procedures and make sure everything has been properly done.”
According to CBS News, the grandmother worked as a director of operations for a non-profit group called the May Institute that helped people with autism and other special needs.
