Boy, 16, 'killed his mother with his friend's help' after she confiscated his cell phone
A 16-year-old boy is facing first
degree murder charges after his mom’s body was found at the family’s
home in the early hours of Saturday.
The body of Tina Helms Spencer, 36, was found murdered in the backyard shed at the property in Mesa, Arizona.
Her
son, Mike Helms, has been booked into juvenile detention on charges
including first-degree murder, aggravated assault and tampering with
evidence.
A 17-year-old friend of the son was
booked into juvenile detention on charges of first-degree murder as an
accomplice, evidence tampering and concealment of a body.
Police say the 16-year-old had been grounded and had his phone taken away.
After his mom returned home from work, they allegedly had a heated argument over the phone and he decided to kill her.
Cops were alerted after receiving a phone call from the son’s stepfather. He also had been attacked by the boy after returning home from work but had managed to escape after a short struggle.
When police arrived, a vehicle was missing from the home and there were signs of a struggle.
During
the investigation, police ended up speaking with a 17-year-old friend
of the son at his nearby home, when the 16-year-old arrived, he was
immediately taken into custody.
Authorities expect a hearing will be held to determine if the juveniles will be charged as adults.
A hammer and a frying pan were found at the scene, which police believe were involved in the incident.
Police say the 16-year-old asked his friend to act as a lookout so he could attack her when she came home.
Both boys allegedly moved Spencer to the shed, attempted to clean up the scene and then the 17-year-old left.
Afterward,
police say the 16-year-old decided to also kill his stepfather, but
they don't believe the 17-year-old was part of that plan.
A school friend of Helms described him as a friendly kid, a junior ROTC cadet in high school.
'He's
a giant teddy. He's tough on the outside. He puts up that front, but
when you get to know him, he's a standup guy,' Mike O'Connor told FOX10.
'He
didn't really have home issues he talked about. If he did, it was
typical stuff. One week he'd have a fight with this parents, the next
week he was talking about how his mom was awesome and helping him out
with something.'
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