Charges Dropped Against Anaheim Boy Accused of Helping to Kill Grandmother

A judge Friday threw out charges against an 11-year-old Anaheim boy accused of helping his mother kill his grandmother, despite a prosecutor’s argument that the youth was a clever assassin’s apprentice acting out of hatred.

After two days of testimony, Pasadena Juvenile Court Judge Sandy Kriegler dismissed the claim that the youth had aided his mother, Victoria Elizabeth Jacobs Madeira, in the Oct. 14 stabbing and shooting of Roma Jaul Jacobs at her La Canada Flintridge home.

The youth, whose name is not published because of his age, was believed to be the state’s youngest murder defendant in a decade. An 11-year-old was convicted of murdering another child in 1981 by stabbing the victim in the eye with an ice pick, according to Darrell Bray, chief of information systems for the California Youth Authority.

After Kriegler dismissed the charges, one of the youth’s uncles, who asked not to be named, clapped, grinned and shook the hands of William Turner, the boy’s attorney.

The 11-year-old, clad in a gray sweat suit and black sneakers, maintained the stony expression that he had exhibited throughout much of the proceeding. His demeanor had changed radically just once--on Thursday, when prosecutors played a recording of a 911 call made by Jacobs, who pleaded for help as she lay bleeding to death.

Then, he had plugged his ears, become glassy-eyed and buried his head in his arms as he heard his grandmother’s cries.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Krag called the judge’s decision “not unreasonable.” But, he added, “I don’t want the boy living next door to me.”

The youth will be turned over to Orange County social workers who will place him in a group home, Turner said. His mother, although imprisoned and facing a murder charge, will remain his legal guardian for now, unless she is convicted, he added.

Madeira, 43, has pleaded not guilty and is being held in the Sybil Brand Institution for Women. She faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 24 in Glendale Municipal Court. Krag and Turner said they didn’t know how the outcome of her son’s trial would affect her prosecution.

According to authorities, the crime unfolded this way:

Madeira and her son, both armed with knives and pistols, took a taxi from Anaheim to Jacobs’ home. Madeira stabbed her mother on a patio, prosecutors allege, then followed her into the kitchen, where Jacobs managed to dial 911. Deputies heard the woman plead for help seconds before Madeira allegedly shot her to death.

Madeira and her son were arrested outside Jacobs’ home just minutes after that call. Madeira was wearing military fatigues and her son was dressed in women’s clothing, with jewelry and makeup, authorities testified.

Jacobs was shot at least four times in the head, investigators said.

Family members said that Madeira has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic who persuaded her son that his grandmother wanted to separate them. Relatives have blamed the crime on her illness. Social workers testified that the youth disliked his grandmother and often refused to see her.

Investigators and forensic experts found no evidence showing that the boy had stabbed or shot Jacobs. A neighbor of Jacobs testified that he heard the boy shout, “Shut up! Shut up!” as the victim shouted for help.

Krag argued in court that it was that incident and others that showed the boy knew and understood what he and his mother were doing.

Sheriff’s investigators testified that they found at Madeira’s Anaheim apartment an extensive assortment of knives, guns, bullets, books on using weapons, makeup for disguises and, among other things, a picture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein with the word “kill” scrawled across his face.

Krag alleged that the youth helped plan the crime, voluntarily disguised himself, helped his mother transport weapons to her mother’s home and then shouted at his grandmother when she pleaded for help.

“This isn’t how you go to grandmother’s house for dinner,” said Krag, causing the youth to wince and squirm. “This was a gruesome, awful act that was committed. He knew this was wrong. He absolutely knew this was wrong.”