Boy pleads not guilty in grandparents’ slaying


August 27, 2013 at 8:33a.m.

Boy pleads not guilty in grandparents’ slaying

FRANKLIN, Pa. (AP) — A 14-year-old northwestern Pennsylvania boy has pleaded not guilty to charges he fatally shot his grandparents at their home when he was just 13 last fall.

Zachary Proper, of Oil City, entered the plea Monday at his formal arraignment in Venango County Common Pleas Court. A judge last month determined there was enough evidence for Proper to stand trial and ruled earlier this month that Proper should be prosecuted as an adult rather than in juvenile court, where he could be incarcerated only until he is 21 if he were convicted.

Prosecutors say Proper killed 69-year-old George Fross and 67-year-old Dorothy Fross on Oct. 7 at their Sandycreek Township home near Franklin. That’s about 70 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Proper faces a possible life sentence if convicted.