Boy, 16, Is Arraigned in the Shooting Death of His Mother

A boy spent part of his 16th birthday Tuesday in Juvenile Court, where he was arraigned on charges that he shot his mother in the head and then fled to Washington state in her car.

The teenager, whose name was not released, was arraigned on one count of murder in the slaying of his 51-year-old mother, Lois O’Donnell. He was also charged with one count of grand theft for allegedly stealing her car and another count of grand theft for using her automated teller machine card to withdraw more than $400.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Taklender said prosecutors will seek to try the teenager as an adult.

O’Donnell’s brother discovered his sister’s body inside her home in the 11300 block of Covello Street on Oct. 15. The brother told officers he noticed that both O’Donnell and her car had been missing for at least three days. He climbed a ladder, entered through the backyard and found the woman in her kitchen.

Police arrested the teenager after he told a hotel employee in Kelso, Wash., a town about 100 miles south of Seattle, that he had been robbed of all his money and abandoned by his traveling partner.

Once local police arrived and turned the teenager over to a social services agency, an investigation revealed that a warrant had been issued for his arrest in connection with his mother’s shooting in California. The boy was extradited to Los Angeles on Oct. 17.

Taklender said prosecutors usually request that minors charged with murder be tried as adults if they are over 14 years old.