A young man from Indiana, Raymond Ronald Lee, Child III, was found guilty of murdering his entire family after an argument about him leaving home without permission. At the time of the crime, he was 17 years old and was charged as an adult.
His first trial ended without a decision because a witness asked him why he did it. In his second trial, the jury convicted him in Marion County of six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of carrying a handgun without a license. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2025.
The attempted murder charge is related to his younger brother, who survived the incident. The brother managed to escape despite being shot in the leg and arm and led investigators to the scene of the shooting on Adams Street. There, they found six victims: Kezzie Childs (42), Raymond Childs (42), Elijah Childs (18), Rita Childs (13), Kiara Hawkins (19), and Kiara’s unborn son, referred to as “Baby Boy Hawkins.”
At the time of the incident, Childs III’s girlfriend said his father had called him to come home. He did return but later left again, bringing two bags of clothes and saying his father had kicked him out. When his girlfriend received an alert about a shooting on Adams Street, where his family lived, Childs III pretended not to know anything.
The surviving brother told police what he saw that day. He said that their father asked him to fill a bottle with water, so he went to the bathroom. While he was there, he heard two gunshots. His father got out of bed and ran to the stairs, asking what had happened. The brother then heard his sister Rita say, “Raymond shot Elijah!” After another gunshot, he heard his dad say, “I’m sorry Raymond, I love you.”
