The Shocking Story of Curtis and Catherine: The Youngest People Ever Charged with First-Degree Murder

In 1999, Curtis and Catherine were the youngest people in the U.S. to be charged as adults for first-degree murder. They were 12 and 13 years old, respectively.

Some people said they killed Sonya Nicole Speights because she took attention away from them, but the two said they did it because of sexual abuse.

Catherine Jones had told her brother that a male relative had acted inappropriately while watching her shower. When the Florida Department of Children and Families decided not to investigate, Catherine planned to kill her father, her male relative, and Speights. Curtis offered to help.

The duo went after Speights because they thought she let sexual abuse keep happening. But after shooting at her nine times and hitting her four times (killing her), the children, who were only 12 and 13, realized they had made a mistake and at first said it was an accident.