Pennsylvania Teen Charged As An Adult For Murdering Older Brother In Jealous Rage
An argument between two Pennsylvania brothers turned deadly when 15-year-old Dakota Thornton of Williamstown shot and killed his older brother, Dominick Thornton, 18, because he was “romantically interested in his girlfriend,” according to ABC 27.
In the early hours of Wednesday, March 30, Dauphin County police officials arrived at 113 Autumn Drive, located in an apartment complex called Laurel Hill, after receiving a call about a man being shot in the head.
It was reported that Dakota had been waiting for the police to arrive as he held his hands in the air.
“I shot my brother,” he said when they arrived on the scene.
The teen was immediately read his Miranda rights and taken to the police station for questioning with his mother present.
Meanwhile, his older brother, Dominick, was found dead in a small room in the apartment he shared with his maternal grandmother after leaving foster care.
During an interview with the police, the teen boy confessed to fatally shooting his brother because “he was romantically interested in Dominick’s girlfriend,” who was reportedly outside of the apartment when the shooting occurred.
According to PennLive, Dakota was hanging out with his brother and his girlfriend, whose name is being withheld because she is a minor, in the early hours of Wednesday. The brothers went inside of the apartment for unknown reasons while Dominick’s girlfriend stayed outside “rummaging through Dominick’s old, beat up Prism.”
Moments after the brothers went inside, it was reported that Dakota ran outside and told his brother’s girlfriend that he had shot his brother. She immediately ran inside to check on him and found him sitting in a chair in a small room. When Dominick’s girlfriend left the scene and returned with her mother, she found him unresponsive, and he had fallen on the floor.
Paramedics were called, but it was too late. Dominick Thornton was pronounced dead at the scene after it was reported that his brother fatally shot him in the head.
Coroner Graham Hetrick, who ruled the incident a homicide, stated, “There was an argument – over nothing that was worth the life of anybody. You now have a 15-year-old who at this point has no future, and a brother who is dead. It’s tragic, but it’s one more example of another thing. The story to tell is how we value life, how we handle arguments, how we handle anger within our society.”
“We have become a violent and rude society. The real debate we should be having is why we don’t treat each other better. Why do we have to resort to this sort of thing?”
“How did we get to the point this is so common…we read these horror stories every day in the paper; we become almost anesthetized to how bad society is becoming,” added Hetrick. “We have to talk about what are the implications of broken families, poverty, school systems failing, and tremendous drug use.”
This is breaking my heart more and more…???? https://t.co/HSHrlLiCwb
— CaseyCantStandYou!! (@BeautifulReck13) March 31, 2016
Neighbors were shocked after learning that an argument between two teen brothers turned deadly, especially when they were known to be “typical, big-hearted kids.”
Andre Brodie, who is a neighbor, said Dominick “was a good young man, and he was the type that would do anything for anybody.”
Another neighbor, Nicole Davis, concurred with Brodie’s statement. She told reporters that Dominick had help fix her car just recently, and when she offered to pay, he refused.
“He was good-hearted,” she said.
Davis added that she was in awe after learning that Dakota, who played basketball with her son the day before he shot and killed his brother, was now behind bars.
“It’s very shocking,” said Nicole as she fought back tears. “I saw them carry him [Dominick] out in a body bag. It’s not at all usual around here.”
Dakota Thornton confessed to fatally shooting his brother in the head and is being charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon as an adult.
[Image via Dauphin County Sheriff’s Department]
