Murder, arson charges dropped

Two psychologists said the boy did not have the developmental maturity to go to trial.

GREENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A judge on Tuesday found a 10-year-old boy accused of deliberately setting a fire that killed his mother, younger sister and three other children not competent to face juvenile delinquency counts of murder and arson.

Judge Michael McClurg, who had ordered a psychological evaluation of Timothy Douglas Byers, made the ruling during a competency hearing in Darke County Juvenile Court.

McClurg declared Byers a ward of the state and kept him in temporary custody with his grandmother. The judge also ordered a child welfare agency to continue its supervision and counseling of the boy.

Byers was charged with five delinquency counts of murder and one delinquency count of aggravated arson in the Sept. 16 duplex-apartment fire in this western Ohio city.

Police say the boy confessed setting the fire but did not mean for anyone to die. Byers’ attorney, David Rohrer, has said Byers denies the charges. Rohrer had said he would try to block use of the alleged confession, saying the boy was pressured into it.

Two psychologists, one hired by the court and the other by the prosecution, found that Byers did not have the developmental maturity to understand the proceedings or to aid his lawyers in his own defense.

“The evidence clearly shows he doesn’t understand,” McClurg said.

The psychologists also agreed the child could not be “restored” to competency within a year, a standard under state law.

McClurg dismissed the charges against Byers and ordered that the boy perform 40 hours of community service, transition back to school and attend a fire safety class. McClurg said he would review the case in six months.

Killed in the fire were the boy’s mother, Chanan Palmer, 30, and his sister Kaysha Minnich. The other victims were Kayla Winans, 6; Je’Shawn Davis, 5; and Jasmine Davis, 3.

Dezirae Jones, an aunt of some of the victims, told the judge before his decision that she forgives Byers.

“But there are four children and an adult lady... I will never be able to see them again,” Jones said as tears ran down her face. “I wish we could figure out what happened.”

Byers lived in a low-income, rough-and-tumble neighborhood where shouting and fistfights sometimes erupt on the street at night and in the early morning. His mother worked as a waitress, his family struggled financially, and his stepfather died in July.

Those who know him describe Byers as shy and easygoing, and recalled seeing him riding bikes and tossing a football around on a grassy patch near his home. At church events, he would pray for his mother, play jokes in the church van, eat pizza rolls and sip orange drink.

Susan Riegle, the city schools superintendent who was principal of the elementary school Byers attended, called the boy a well-behaved student who got along well with his peers and never caused problems.