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Teen Charged with Murder in Charles City Death
By
Justin Foss
Story Created:
Jul 10, 2009 at 7:21 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jul 13, 2009 at 5:36 PM CST
CHARLES CITY - A 14-year-old boy is now accused of sexually abusing and murdering a three year-old girl in Charles City. Police initially took 14-year-old Edgar Concepcion Jr. into custody over the weekend on suspicion of sexual abuse. That came after the death of three-year-old Krystel Banes at a babysitter's home on Friday.
Monday's Developments:
During Monday's news conference, the chief of police said Concepcion Jr. is charged in juvenile court with first degree sexual abuse and first degree murder. Authorities say the three year-old girl is a murder victim. "The cause of death has been determined to be asphyxia in the matter of the death of homicide," Charles City Police Chief Mike Wendel told the media during Monday's press conference.
That means the killer would have had to do something to cut Krystel's air supply. Concepcion was supposed to appear in Floyd County Court Monday morning but waived his right to challenge detention. Floyd County Attorney Jesse Marzen said, "At the time of the hearing, he, through his attorney, admitted that there was probable cause that he committed a public offense and as such waived a formal hearing on the issue."
A Family Grieves:
B.J. Franklin is with Horizon's survivors in Cedar Rapids, a group that works with families of homicide victims. Franklin is serving as a spokesperson for the Banes family, "There are a lot of different parties that become involved in these families lives following a homicide but we want to try to help them through that process." She says the Banes family continues to grieve. "They're doing the absolutely best that they possibly can given this extremely difficult situation."
Franklin said the family has asked for privacy at this time. But she says they are working on putting together a memorial service for Krystel.
A KCRG-TV9 News crew in Charles City spoke to Krystel Banes' parents Sunday afternoon. They were distraught and did not want to go on camera. They say Krystel was a wonderful little girl who loved to play and have fun.
Neighbors React:
Neighbors say the little girl was a relative and it was common to see her there, playing with other children including Concepcion Jr. "Yeah, he'd interact like a normal brother would as far as I'd seen when they were outside. He'd play with them, throw the ball to them," said neighbor Kim Brady.
Brady has lived next to the family for more than a year. She said it's a big family and they mostly kept to themselves, but did play outside a lot.
The Suspect:
Authorities have charged 14-year-old Edgar Concepcion Jr. with first-degree murder and first-degree sexual abuse in connection with the death of Krystel Banes. The 14-year-old had just completed eighth grade at Charles City Middle School where he was an honor roll student, as well as a student athlete. Concepcion Jr. is scheduled to be in court July 29th to determine if he should be tried as an adult.
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