WOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- A 10-year-old boy is under arrest, charged with luring a 3-year-old boy from a library, beating him with a baseball bat and sexually assaulting him before dumping his body in a drainage ditch.
The victim, Amir Beeks, died Thursday morning, authorities said.
The 10-year-old, who was not identified by authorities, is charged with murder, felony murder, kidnapping, illegal weapons possession and aggravated sexual assault.
He appeared before a Family Court judge in New Brunswick on Thursday and is being held in the Middlesex County Youth Detention Center.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said the 10-year-old cannot be tried as an adult.
He faces a sentence of up to 20 years on the murder charge, but could serve a longer term if he were convicted on the other charges and the judge were to impose consecutive sentences.
Kaplan said the 10-year-old and the 3-year-old were at the Colonia Library in Woodbridge at 4:25 p.m. on Wednesday. The older boy did not know the younger boy, Kaplan said, adding that a motive in the attack remains unclear.
The 3-year-old was at the library with relatives, Kaplan said.
Beeks was found face down in a drainage ditch within walking distance of the library at about 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Paramedics rushed him to JFK Hospital in Edison, where he remained in critical condition on life support until 11:16 a.m. Thursday when he was pronounced dead.
Kaplan said the cause of death has not yet been determined, although it appeared the boy had been beaten with the baseball bat.
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Damn, as soon as I read this, I remembered those 2 British kids who killed a much younger kid. I really had a hard time forgetting that. Argh... I feel like punching something right now. mad: