PA- 42yo Douglas Dietz murdered, son being charged as adult on his 11th birthday - Duncannon, Perry County, 13 Jan 2026

[katydid23]

"If it was a private/family adoption, would that have come into play? Just speculation and wondering on my part."


in answer to above question, even private adoptions are carefully scrutinised by the state social workers. The potential parents are subject to deep background investigations before they are allowed to adopt a child.

However we don't know if this stepfather was ever investigated before his wife's son moved in with him. Probably not, apparently.

 

[realanastasia]

@DonAntonio I am wondering where it has been reported that his biological parents gave him up for adoption—I haven’t seen that claim made in any mainstream news sources yet. For all we know, he could’ve been adopted from an orphanage.

 

[katydid23]

@DonAntonio I am wondering where it has been reported that his biological parents gave him up for adoption—I haven’t seen that claim made in any mainstream news sources yet. For all we know, he could’ve been adopted from an orphanage.

I'm not sure about the exact percentages these days---but I'm guessing that it is way more often that bio parents relinquish, or are forced to relinquish---compared to the numbers of babies going from an orphanage. Do we even have orphanages anymore?


ETA: I just googled that---there are no orphanages left in the US, most were phased out in the 6o's and 70's. A few remained open until the 8o's, but the Foster Care system took over completely after that.

 

[outback]

I totally agree..he was probably thinking of that switch for the entire time it was taken away..and if this is an autistic child there's no way he just fires this loud gun in the dark and it doesn't scare the crap out of him..he just casually goes into the closet and says i killed daddy.. I don't know what level of autism he has but unless hes heard that noise before i dont know what kid wouldn't be scared..

Exactly.

I'm autistic and there is no way I could have handled that noise.
How could the mother have not been scared?
Jmo

 

[acutename]

I

I have heard mixed stories that the switch was taken away days before this happened...I guess because I have a 9 year old autistic child and I know all autistic kids aren't the same...but they are not socially aware..so it makes since that he thought about shooting him but didn't think what would happen next..he might not even have realized he might kill his dad. Also, if I take my son;s tablet away he will search everywhere for it until he finds it..so im guessing thats what CD was also doing..and if they knew him like they said they did they would have known he would have most likely searched his fathers drawers (thats where we hide ours)..so why would u also keep the key to a gun safe in a drawer he is most likely to look in.

the guns were not safe- not if the key is easily accessible

 

[LadyL]

This seems a little too loud to think that smell was from fireworks. Especially if she was right next to her husband head in the bed next to her. This story has so many holes.. and now this kid has gone from our son, to step son, to we adopted him, to foster kid ..this is one of those that will keep me up at night. He’s going to prison for murder as an adult being an autistic newly 11 year old kid.

This is what a revolver sounds like:

she was likely asleep and groggy, confused
I know a gunshot is not the first thing I would think of

 

[LadyL]

I can imagine that CD was angry and upset when his Nintendo was taken as a punishment. Normally the anger will disappear after a while. He waits till the middle of the night to try to find his Nintendo. Thats already bizar. Instead finding a key to open a safe and find a gun and load this gun is even more bizar. To walk with a loaded gun and aim and shoot this gun at his dad is extreme behavior and absolutely not normal for a child. I hope they will examine CS very intensive because to me he has potential to become a Serial killer when he grews older. <Modsnip-source>. For now its good he is in prison so the community will be save for a while. Maybe he can leave his miserabel life so far behind him in future and become a good citizen if he ever comes out of jail.

my guess is he waited until his parents were asleep especially since he wanted to search in the adjoining closet between his and his parent's rooms, which would've been noisier than if he were looking anywhere else in the house IMO

 

[LadyL]

Exactly.

I'm autistic and there is no way I could have handled that noise.
How could the mother have not been scared?
Jmo

where did you read she wasn't scared?

 

[LadyL]

"If it was a private/family adoption, would that have come into play? Just speculation and wondering on my part."


in answer to above question, even private adoptions are carefully scrutinised by the state social workers. The potential parents are subject to deep background investigations before they are allowed to adopt a child.

However we don't know if this stepfather was ever investigated before his wife's son moved in with him. Probably not, apparently.

are you referring to this case? this child was biologically the wife's child?
I know the statement you referred to was speculation but your last sentence here has me confused

 

[outback]

where did you read she wasn't scar

where did you read she wasn't scared?

Sorry for the mess. I'm not good at quoting.

I wasn't clear earlier. No doubt she was scared but...I'm just confused why she didn't recognize the sound of the gun. Everything about this story is baffling so far.

Jmo

 

[Dreamcherry]

Sorry for the mess. I'm not good at quoting.

I wasn't clear earlier. No doubt she was scared but...I'm just confused why she didn't recognize the sound of the gun. Everything about this story is baffling so far.

Jmo

Because it woke her up from a dead sleep. Sometimes it takes me a while to even recognize the sound of my alarm when it wakes me up, and I've been using the same one for like 15+ years. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm generally pretty confused for a few moments when I'm woken up, lol.

 

[katydid23]

are you referring to this case? this child was biologically the wife's child?
I know the statement you referred to was speculation but your last sentence here has me confused

OHH, I thought, from reading the posts upthread, that the wife adopted him, then got together with DD, who became stepfather. I didn't realise he was her bio son.

So the stepdad adopted him? There should have been a deep dive into his past if he was filing for adoption. Hard to believe he had prior record of DV and child abuse..

 

[spookyprincess]

she was likely asleep and groggy, confused
I know a gunshot is not the first thing I would think of

I think so too but a revolver is so loud and being fired right next to you.. idk something about this whole story doesn't sit right with me.. They are making him seem like a psychopath saying I killed daddy like a stone cold killer.. he was probably in shock. Also some stories are saying his switch was taken away days before this..

 

[spookyprincess]

the guns were not safe- not if the key is easily accessible

exactly.. and why keep it in the drawer and where he's probably going to go looking for his switch. Was it even locked? was the gun actually already loaded and just sitting there..

 

[spookyprincess]

OHH, I thought, from reading the posts upthread, that the wife adopted him, then got together with DD, who became stepfather. I didn't realise he was her bio son.

So the stepdad adopted him? There should have been a deep dive into his past if he was filing for adoption. Hard to believe he had prior record of DV and child abuse..

CD was her biological son? The reporting on this story is the worst. Some reports say he was adopted at 3 years old and had some serious attachment issues..

 

[Jo in Calif]

OHH, I thought, from reading the posts upthread, that the wife adopted him, then got together with DD, who became stepfather. I didn't realise he was her bio son.

So the stepdad adopted him? There should have been a deep dive into his past if he was filing for adoption. Hard to believe he had prior record of DV and child abuse..

I don't think he was her bio son, they both adopted him.

Douglas and Jillian adopted Clayton in 2018, according to court documents

Family friend: 11-year-old accused in Perry County death has autism, close bond with family

A close family friend, David Stuckey, as known as "Uncle David," says he supported the Dietz family for nearly a decade and had a unique bond with 11-year-old Clayton.

www.wgal.com

 

[spookyprincess]

Exactly.

I'm autistic and there is no way I could have handled that noise.
How could the mother have not been scared?
Jmo

exactly. That noise is so loud it would have scared anyone close enough to it or even the neighbors. i live in the country and i can hear people shooting miles away, I can't believe no one else heard it. He must have been terrified.

 

[spookyprincess]

I don't think he was her bio son, they both adopted him.

Douglas and Jillian adopted Clayton in 2018, according to court documents

Family friend: 11-year-old accused in Perry County death has autism, close bond with family

A close family friend, David Stuckey, as known as "Uncle David," says he supported the Dietz family for nearly a decade and had a unique bond with 11-year-old Clayton.

www.wgal.com

I listened to this interview also, a few times. What is the deal with this guy? I read that he supports them?? he somehow knows this child so well but lives in mexico? He's in the family photo?

 

[MrsWatson]

I have many questions about this. And I will leave it at that.

 

[spicyenigma]

The good news is that there's currently a bill in PA that's been created to end charging children as adults...

House Bill 1383 Information; 2025-2026 Regular Session - The Official Website of the Pennsylvania General Assembly

View the status of PA General Assembly bills including history, text, co-sponsorship memos, summaries, actions, fiscal notes, and statute references. Download legislation in HTML, PDF, or Word.

www.palegis.us

The sentencing for juveniles for first and second degree murder is 20-30 to life but it looks like considerations are made based on age and the like

Act of Oct. 25, 2012,P.L. 1655, No. 204 Cl. 18 - CRIMES CODE (18 PA.C.S.), JUDICIAL CODE (42 PA.C.S.) AND PRISONS AND PAROLE CODE (61 PA.C.S.) - OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS

I'm not sure how sentencing goes if there's any lesser charges like manslaughter.