Pa. teen moved, double-slaying hearing delayed

FRANKLIN, Pa. (AP) — A 13-year-old northwestern Pennsylvania boy has been transferred to a juvenile detention center.

Zachary Proper, of Oil City, has been moved from the Venango County Jail in Franklin to a detention center in Erie, where he remains held without bond in the Oct. 7 slayings of his grandparents, 69-year-old George Fross and 67-year-old Dorothy Fross.

Police say the teen told them he shot the couple after they made disparaging remarks about his mother.

Proper’s defense attorney did not immediately return a call for comment today.

The boy is charged as an adult in the slayings and faces up to life in prison if convicted, though his attorney could petition to move the case to juvenile court where he’d face incarceration or supervision only until he turns 21.

Wednesday’s preliminary hearing has been postponed until Oct. 31.