PA - Connor Wolfe 5, shot/killed by 13YO brother (charged as adult), parents charged, Nov 2021

[al66pine]

Parents charged after 13-year-old shoots 5-year-old brother to death
Gerwig [Sarah, the children's mother] said all four of their children were staying in a first floor bedroom because the electricity had stopped working on the second floor. The gun was on the first floor.

@Reasonable & Just Thanks for your post, quote, & link. Elec not working on 2nd floor???

Without the exact house address, I 'Zillow-ed' around on Preston Drive, where looks like many of the houses were built in 1950's & 60's. Was their home designed w only ground floor living space (plus basement?) w room for expansion, by finishing out the attic/upper half story into bedrooms. Maybe somewhere along the line, a DYI project w portable space heaters?
But why would upstairs elec'y not work? Did parents not want to use space heaters, often quite expensive to run? Have all the kids sleep on ground floor?

Doubting any direct connection w the shooting, I'll move out of the weeds on this idea, but still seems strange. my2ct.

 

[worm]

Just want to add that things go wrong with houses all the time, and it's expensive and hard to find people to fix them these days. I'm not implying that being poor is a crime or neglectful, but I do wonder if all those unsecured guns and possible paranoia might have been a factor in not doing repairs. Or maybe it was just another straw on the camel's back in the chaos they were living in.

This is so true and I don’t find fault at all if they just turned the breakers and were having to wait on saving money for repairs. I recently had a plumbing issue that made me change some Christmas spending plans. The unsecured guns are the issue I have.

Anytime I’ve even had people with children to visit I take the time and effort to double check and make sure weapons, even pocket knives, are secured and out of reach. It’s just good practice.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I searched for an update on this case, because you don't often see parents charged. (I understand and agree with charges in some cases.)

The result in this case was that the mother, Sara Gerwig, received 8 years of probation. I cannot find an update for the father, Thomas Wolfe. (Can anyone find one?) This article says he still faced charges as of August 2022.

Mother of boy who shot, killed younger brother sentenced to 8 years probation

A woman whose son shot and killed his younger brother has been sentenced to 8 years of probation.

www.cbsnews.com