IA - Gretchen Crooks, 37, murdered, Osage, 24 March 2012

[Linda7NJ]

It was his age that saved him. People have great difficultly locking a kid away...same with mothers that murder their own children. If given a creative excuse, at least one juror will be more than happy to hang their hat on it.
IMO

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[prd2bokie]

It blows my mind that there was really no hint that he had problems.

 

[Linda7NJ]

It blows my mind that there was really no hint that he had problems.

In the links up thread it details quite a bit of very concerning behaviors.


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[OkieGranny]

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/no...cle_70aed2c6-bc10-11e2-9076-0019bb2963f4.html

guilty of second degree murder

From your link:

Crooks will remain in a juvenile facility at either Waterloo or Eldora until his 18th birthday.

“Then at 18, or shortly before that, he will come back before this same court. They will make a determination of whether he should be discharged at that time or whether he should be sentenced at that time; whether he should be supervised at that time. The problem is no one knows what’s going to happen when he turns 18,” Walk said.

Today:

http://www.thonline.com/news/iowa-i...cle_8f0f2aeb-7437-5a58-b329-b5750a521b50.html

A judge on Friday sentenced 17-year-old Noah Crooks to up to 50 years in prison for the March 2012 shooting death of his mother, 37-year-old Gretchen Crooks. He will go to prison once he turns 18 this summer.

 

[cocomod]

Thank you OkieGranny! I am very pleased they sentenced him for longer. IMVHO he was a danger to society. B

 

[cocomod]

His dad no longer supports Noah. Such a sad, sad case. The doctors are against him getting out saying he shows no remorse and will be a danger to society when he does get out. The doctors also say he is showing signs of anti-social behaviors. I know he was young, but he may have done much worse given more time! I hope they hold him as long as possible. I really hope they listen to the doctor's advice!

FindLaw's Supreme Court of Iowa case and opinions.

His uncle (the victim's brother) requested the maximum sentence, and his maternal grandmother emphasized that he “doesn't have real empathy.” William, the defendant's father, spoke last:

[F]or four years we never talked about Gretchen, not once. He never had any remorse about his mom. I'd push him. ․ [H]e just wanted her out of his life because he can play video games. ․ [F]our years isn't long enough to pay for a wonderful woman who did so much at the hospital, for all of us, who were all of our rocks that we had to rely on. I — he needs to pay for his mother's life.

And I know that's hard to say, but it's just what it is, kid. It's time you face the piper, I guess, and letting you out today would ruin so many more lives. It honestly would.

...

[T]he common theme throughout the documents that have been submitted, and even comments made here today, is that there has been a surprising lack of an emotional response from Noah, something showing appropriate remorse, empathy, which is understanding the feelings of the other people who have been affected by your actions.

...

The lack of an appropriate emotional response, the lack of empathy, the lack of something that even approaches an adequate explanation for why this happened could be an indication that you just don't care. We just don't know yet.

 

[cocomod]

50-year prison sentence upheld for teen who killed mother

DES MOINES – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the prison sentence for an Osage teen who shot and killed his mother in 2012.

www.weareiowa.com

50-year prison sentence upheld for teen who killed mother​

DES MOINES – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the prison sentence for an Osage teen who shot and killed his mother in 2012.

Crooks spent time at Eldora’s State Training School, and a juvenile court officer reported in April 2016 that Crooks “tried to avoid addressing why he killed his mother”.

“With a strong degree of medical certainty, I can state that the prospects for rehabilitating Noah Crooks prior to his eighteenth birthday are nil,” Dr. Taylor wrote in 2012.