8/9/13 12 year old who shot mother sentenced

  • By Nick Sabo
  • August 9, 2013
  • 25296
                        
SUMMARY: Joseph McVay to remain in custody of department of youth services A 12-year-old boy who shot and killed his mother was sentenced to an indefinite period of confinement with the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Joseph McVay, 12, Big Prairie, was sentenced Friday Aug. 9 by Holmes County Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Lee to a suspended sentence of confinement until age 21. The sentence will hang over Joseph’s head while he remains in an undisclosed facility with the department of youth services (DYS) for an indefinite period of time. Regular hearings will be held to determine whether Joseph is to remain in the DYS facility. Joseph previously pleaded to one count of murder in the Jan. 2, 2011 shooting death of his mother, Deborah McVay. Joseph did not speak at the sentencing. His father and grandmother attended the hearing. Prosecuting Attorney Steve Knowling said it is the state’s position that Joseph remain in custody of DYS until age 21. “I would hope he is kept in custody until he is 21,” Knowling said. “That, ultimately, is up the judge.” Joseph has been in the custody of DYS for the last year and a half. He is attending public school and is being held in a controlled facility. Knowling said the facility is not a lock down environment, but DYS “controls (Joseph’s) access to everything.” “The residential placement is not a home, it’s a facility,” Knowling said. “It is not something he can walk away from.” McVay was represented through the court proceedings by attorneys Andrew Hyde, Doug Milhoan, and Thomas White. Milhoan served as guardian ad litem. Joseph shot Deborah McVay at their Big Prairie residence with a .22 caliber rifle from his bedroom doorway. Mother and son had apparently been arguing about chores at the time. The shooting was witnessed by Joseph’s half sister. Following the shooting, Joseph and his half sister went to neighbor’s house where they placed a call to police, when Joseph said he had shot his mother. He later made similar confessions to law enforcement.


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