Siblings Killed and Buried Texas Boy, Police Say

Authorities found the body of a 6-year-old boy buried in a creek bed behind his suburban Dallas home Tuesday and said his 10-year-old brother and 15-year-old sister had confessed to killing him.

Police say the girl led them to the shallow grave of Jackson Carr about six hours after he was reported missing Monday evening.

Jackson’s brother told their parents the boy disappeared after a game of hide-and-seek, sparking a search by police and neighbors.

Jackson was stabbed in the neck and suffocated, the coroner said in ruling the death a homicide. The grave in heavily wooded terrain is about 100 yards from the family’s home.

The siblings were being held at a Denton County detention center on suspicion of murder, police investigator Eddie Barrett said. Formal charges were not immediately filed.

“The information we have is, of course, not a complete picture,” prosecutor Lee Ann Breading told the Dallas Morning News in a story posted on its Web site. “Lewisville is still finalizing their case.”

The girl “confessed to killing her brother” and the 10-year-old admitted he held his brother down “during the process of murder,” Sgt. Richard Douglas said.

Police would not comment on a possible motive but said evidence was found in the home. The parents, Michael and Rita Carr, are not suspects, Douglas said.

“The parents are traumatized by this,” he said. “They’ve been cooperative.”

Neighbor Mike Houser, who helped authorities search for the boy, said he hadn’t noticed the freshly turned dirt.

“When everybody was searching, we weren’t looking for a grave. We were looking for a little boy,” Houser said. “I thought he was just lost.”

Neighbors said the family has lived in the rural subdivision 20 miles northwest of Dallas for about four months and that the children regularly played in the creek bed. A red tent the children used as a fort was still standing near the loose red dirt where the body was buried. Homicide investigators’ plastic gloves were discarded on the mound.

Neighbor Janet Ellison said she had seen the brothers riding their bicycles shortly before Jackson was reported missing.

“They were riding their bikes, like everything was normal,” she said. “It’s devastating.”

At the Lewisville school where Jackson was in the first grade, counselors were called in to help students.

“We’re hoping to concentrate more on the school and helping the children that are still here to deal with this tragedy,” said Margaret Gurecky, a school spokeswoman. She said teachers are equally upset.

“He was a very bright, energetic and lively young man, a precious child they certainly will miss and was well-loved by his classmates,” Gurecky said.

Even police were shocked, Douglas said. “This is a very hard case because you have children hurting children,” he said.

Children age 10 and older typically face juvenile crime charges, and punishment is determined by a juvenile judge.

Children as young as 13 can be certified to stand trial as an adult, depending on the circumstances of the crime.