14 Year Old Osgood Teen Facing Murder Charges

The charges stem from an ongoing investigation since May of 2017.

VERSAILLES, IN - A 14-year-old Osgood juvenile could face an adult court after being charged with two counts of murder stemming back from 2017.

Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel announced at a press conference at the Ripley County Courthouse on Wednesday morning that the juvenile allegedly murdered a 23-month old and 11-month-old sibling in the summer of that year. The 23-month-old half-sister of the suspect, Desiree McCartney, reportedly was found unresponsive in the Osgood home on May 1, 2017, and passed away five days later at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. 81 days later, a step-sibling, 11-month-old Nathaniel Ritz, was found unresponsive inside the house on July 20th and passed away just after midnight the next morning at Margaret Mary Community Hospital in Batesville. Both initial autopsies say the cause of death was suffocation. Hertel noted that both may have been suffocated by the suspect with a towel or blanket.

According to Hertel, the suspect, who was 13 at the time of both incidents, was placed out of the home by the Indiana Department of Child Services after the death of McCartney but was later allowed to resume residence at the Osgood home prior to the death of Ritz. Following an ongoing investigation by the Indiana State Police and Child Services that lasted a little over a year, the suspect was detained under a court order on August 28th, 2018 and petition was filed in Ripley County Court for formal charges of murder on September 6th.

Hertel's press conference shed to light that the 14-year-old was placed as a suspect following the first death and that the suspect made several comments during the investigation that alerted authorities including a statement saying the deaths were an act of "freeing the siblings from hell."

The suspect has been detained since August 28th at the Dearborn County Juvenile Center and appeared at an initial hearing on September 10th and will undergo a series of doctor evaluations following a state waiver to move the case to an adult court. Following the evaluations, a determination will be made to see if the suspect is competent to stand trial. If not, the suspect is set to remain in a juvenile facility until able to stand trial.

Two separate investigations are being done through the Indiana State Police and Child Services. More details are set to be released in the coming weeks.