Teenage Boy Accused of Sister’s Death to Appear in Court Again
SACRAMENTO — The teenage boy accused of killing his sister is set to face a Sacramento Superior Court Judge in early December.
The 14-year-old suspect was shackled at his wrists and ankles and dressed in green jail clothes when he appeared last Thursday at Placer Juvenile Court’s Department 12 after being led there by court bailiffs to sit next to his attorneys.
The suspect’s victim was Ashley Wood, 13, of Rocklin. Wood died from a blunt-force assault on July 19, 2016, in her bedroom at her home on Monument Springs Drive, near Interstate 80 in Rocklin. Her body was found by her mother.
If the suspect, who is not being named because he is under the age of 18, is tried as a minor, numerous protections would apply. If convicted, he would be held at a juvenile facility until he is 25 years old. Court documents would be sealed and the proceedings would not be announced or posted.
If he is tried as an adult and convicted, he could face a 25-year sentence. However, he would remain in juvenile confinement until he is 25 years old.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge James Arguelles will be assigned the case and act as a Placer Juvenile Court judge to hear the matter on December 6.
The case has been unusual from the start when the children’s father, Jeff Wood, was a prosecutor handling homicide cases for the Placer County District Attorney’s Office at the time of the incident.
The Placer County District Attorney’s Office had announced in the days following Wood’s death that it could not handle the case due to conflicts of interest. State prosecutors were then called to take on the case.
