'Unthinkable Tragedy' as Boy, 12, Charged With Killing Twin Sister

The Connecticut town of West Hartford has been shaken by the murder of a 12-year-old girl—and the arrest of her twin brother. Police say the boy stabbed his sister to death and seriously injured his 56-year-old mother in the Monday afternoon incident. No motive has been given. West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor says the town is "incredibly brokenhearted," the Hartford Courant reports. "As mayor this is just the worst nightmare," she says. "To have a tragedy like this and to lose anybody in your community is very difficult." The mother has been identified as Janemarie Murphy, a lobbyist well-known and well-liked at the state Capitol. ABC reports that both children were honor students at Sedgwick Middle School.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who knows Murphy, offered his condolences to the family and the town after what he called an "unbelievably heart-wrenching and unthinkable tragedy." The girl has been identified as 12-year-old Brigid Curtin. Her brother, who was injured in the incident and remains hospitalized, faces charges of murder with special circumstances and first-degree assault. His mother is in stable condition in a different hospital. Criminal defense attorney Walter Hussey says there is no chance of the boy being tried as an adult, WFSB reports. Officials say that under state law, which focuses on rehabilitation for young offenders, the maximum sentence a juvenile under 14 can be given is 30 months of probation supervision, "with or without residential placement." (More Connecticut stories.)