Editor’s note: This story contains details of an alleged homicide that some readers may find overly upsetting. If you or a loved one is experiencing mental health crisis, call Axis Health System’s care line at (970) 247-5245.
A 16-year-old boy suspected of stabbing and killing his 12-year-old brother and attempting to kill his mother was ordered Friday to be held in a juvenile detention center on $3 million bail.
An arrest affidavit paints a disturbing picture in which Issac Lawrence, 16, allegedly knifed his brother in the neck as the boy lay in bed and then bludgeoned his mother with a baseball bat hours later when she discovered the deceased boy.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith identified the deceased boy as Samuel Ross.
Lawrence is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray indicated Friday he plans to charge Lawrence as an adult.
The series of events were first reported shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday in the Southwest Horizon Ranch subdivision about a mile south of Elmore’s Corner, southeast of Durango.
Prosecutors on Friday asked 6th Judicial District Court Judge Anthony Baca to set bail at an “unreachable” amount, saying Lawrence poses a significant risk of flight and harm to others if released.
Lawrence was arrested by La Plata County sheriff’s deputies Thursday morning about 6 miles from the home of Sasha Day Ross, his mother.
According to the affidavit, Ross called 911 about 7:15 a.m. Thursday, telling dispatchers she was bleeding from the head after being assaulted with a baseball bat.
When officers arrived at Ross’ residence, Ross appeared to have a broken left arm, the affidavit said. A baseball bat lay on the floor inside Ross’ residence, and a trail of blood led up a stairwell into the home’s second floor.
On the second floor of the residence, officers discovered a 12-year-old child in bed, partially covered by a blanket, with a knife protruding from his neck. Nobody else was in the house.
According to the affidavit, Ross told law enforcement Lawrence had been in foster care but was partially under her care, and she had been “working with foster care to assimilate Issac (sic) into her house.”
Lawrence was permitted to stay at Ross’ home for several days at a time, she told law enforcement. She picked him up from foster care on Oct. 17 and he’d been staying with her and her child ever since – about seven days.
Around 5 a.m., Ross awoke to Lawrence standing over her bed. Lawrence reportedly said he wasn’t in a “good mindset,” the affidavit said.
Lawrence asked if he could lay in bed with Ross, and Ross agreed. She got out of bed to take a shower around 6 a.m. She pulled back the shower curtain and found Lawrence standing there wielding a baseball bat.
She asked what he was doing. He reportedly replied he was going to scare her by smashing a shampoo bottle with the baseball bat. She asked him to go find her phone, which she had been missing, the affidavit said.
Ross went to her child’s bedroom and shouted for the child to wake up. But there was no response. She banged the bedroom door and called for her child again. No response.
The bedroom door was locked. Ross retrieved a key from her bedroom and unlocked the door to find her child laying on the bed, with one leg hanging off the bed. She tried to shake her child’s leg and found it cold to the touch, noting a “weird” color, the affidavit said.
Law enforcement would later discover the child with a knife still stuck in his neck, prosecutors said Friday.
“(Redacted) is not gonna (expletive) wake up cause (redacted) is dead,” Lawrence allegedly said while standing behind his mother.
Lawrence allegedly assaulted Ross with the baseball bat, hitting Ross in the head and then striking her in the arm and the ribs several times.
Ross tried to wrestle the bat from Lawrence to no avail, the affidavit said. She was knocked to the ground and Lawrence flung the bat aside, straddling Ross and grabbing at her throat.
Ross reportedly saved herself by locking eyes with Lawrence and saying, “It’s OK, you did me a favor.”
The affidavit said that caused Lawrence to end his attack; he stood up and went to his room. Ross seized the moment to flee from the house. She screamed for help and ran to two neighbors outside. They watched Lawrence attempt to flee the scene, speeding away in her car.
Lawrence did not get far before crashing the vehicle, prosecutors said in court on Friday.
Prosecutors said Lawrence rolled Ross’ car before ever making it out of the neighborhood.
Public defenders for Lawrence, who is jailed at Grand Mesa Youth Services Center, did not contest prosecutors’ request to set bail at $3 million or no contact orders between Lawrence and Ross. They said Lawrence is a juvenile about a week shy of turning 17 years old.
An earlier version of this story misspelled Issac Lawrence’s first name. Incorrect information was given to the Herald.
cburney@durangoherald.com
