8-Year-Old Accused of Murders Kept Spanking Tally

An 8-year-old Arizona boy charged with murdering his father and a family friend may have kept a written tally of his parents’ spankings, swearing that the 1,000th would be the last, the Arizona Republic reports. Police records say the boy “is believed to have made ledgers and or communicated in the form of writings about his intentions.”

Family members suspected the boy immediately in the Nov. 5 shootings, the records show. “If any 8-year-old was capable of doing this, [the boy] was,” the child’s grandfather said, to which his grandmother added, “I knew this was going to happen, they were too hard on [him].” The boy told police he was spanked the day before the shootings for failing to finish schoolwork. (More shooting stories.)