First-degree murder and attempted murder charges were filed Friday against 12-year-old Jacen Paul Pearson, who is accused of killing his stepfather and injuring his half-sister this week.

Pearson was taken into custody Wednesday night after his stepfather, Todd Alan Peek, was found dead from a gunshot wound in the family's rural Chariton home. Five-year-old Cheyanne Peek suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to her leg.
Pearson faces four charges, all felonies: first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and willful injury.

According to court records, Pearson "willfully, deliberately and with premeditation" killed Peek and attempted to kill his mother, Sarah Peek, and his half-sister, Cheyanne.

Because of his age, state law requires that Pearson be tried in juvenile court. Cases can be transferred to adult court only for juveniles age 16 or older.

However, Lucas County Attorney Paul Goldsmith can decide whether he will ask to have Pearson tried as a youthful offender.
If a court approves such a move and Pearson is found guilty, he could face court sanctions including possible imprisonment after his 18th birthday, according to Iowa law. If his case is handled as a juvenile court matter, state involvement would end when he turns 18.

Pearson is being held at the Polk County Juvenile Detention Center in Des Moines. The filing of the juvenile delinquency petition was the latest development stemming from the shooting on Wednesday afternoon.

This story has haunted me ever since I heard about it on the news the other night. I have thought of this little boy in my waking and sleeping hours. What kind of pain lives with in the walls of his heart that would cause him to take such drastic measures to relieve it? There must be an ocean raging within him that he could not contain. TWELVE YEARS OLD! for goodness sake....a little boy....I do not believe he is a monster. I just can not imagine the hopelessness that must have consumed him to resort to such an act. I pray for him. For his mother. For his sister. For his family. I pray God provides comfort for all of them. I pray God brings someone along in their lives to help calm the raging ocean that caused this to happen. I pray people do not see this little boy as a monster but as a boy who obviously is hurting beyond all imagination. My heart is shattered for this family.