3 Horrific Cases of Kids Who Kill

Experts say kids are driven to kill for many reasons, all boiling down to feelings of anger, sadness, or simply wanting to be the victim in a situation. Psychologist Shawn Johnston told The Why Files during an interview that most kids who kill (in the 5,000+ cases he had worked) are “very self-centered, very self-absorbed, angry youngsters who derive extraordinary pleasure from savage vengeance they wreak on another.” The following cases explore a handful of kids who kill for one reason or another.

Porn Addicts

We never expect kids to hurt other people, especially over sex, but three boys from India have murdered a little girl who refused to perform a sex act on them they had watched in a pornographic video. Police called the boys “porn addicts” after they beat the 6-year-old to death with a rock.

Three Kids Detained

Police in Nagaon, Central Assam, India detained two 11-year-old boys and an 8-year-old boy on suspicion of beating the girl to death. Due to their ages and laws in India, the names of the boys have not been released.

Girl & Boys Were Neighbors

The girl lived next door to the three boys. When the girl threatened to tell her parents about what the boys had asked her to do, they took the stones and bashed her in the head. Police do not think the 8-year-old took part in the attack but stated he helped the other two boys hide her body.

Child Took Dad’s Phone; Watched Porn

Evidence showed one of the boys had taken his dad’s smartphone and downloaded porn. That boy’s father was also arrested in this case after he attempted to destroy evidence to cover up the child’s involvement with the murder. Police charged the man with tampering with evidence.

Victim’s Body Found in Stone Mill

Police found the girl’s body lying beside a toilet of a stone-crushing mill on October 18, 2021. It’s unclear how the police made the discovery.

A statement from Sub-Divisional Police Officer Mrinmoy Das to a Hindu newspaper:

“The two 11-year-olds were porn addicts, seemed mature beyond their age, and capable of execution of a gruesome crime. One of the minors, who studies at an English medium school, wanted to have a physical relationship with the victim but she resisted”.

“The boy was using his father’s smartphone,” said Officer Das. “We found pornographic materials in the phone’s browsing history. He used the phone for his online classes but got addicted to watching porn and would show the X-rated contents to the other two, his cousins”.

Aaron Campbell

16-year-old Aaron Campbell kidnapped 6-year-old Alesha MacPhail from her bed while she was visiting her dad and grandparents on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, on July 2, 2018. After abducting the little girl, Campbell raped and murdered her. He then dumped Alesha’s body in a woodland.

A person walking through the woods found Alesha lying naked, facedown on the ground. An autopsy revealed she had 117 separate injuries. Her body was found at about 9:00 a.m. Her grandparents reported her missing when they work up that morning, about 6:23 a.m.

Campbell had once purchased marijuana from Alesha’s dad, Robert. He snuck into the grandparent’s home while everyone slept about 2:00 a.m. on the morning of the abduction.

Campbell denied any involvement with the crime and pleaded not guilty at his trial. He alleged that Robert’s girlfriend, Toni, hurt Alesha and framed him for the horrific act.

Campbell was found guilty of abduction, rape, and murder. At his sentencing, he confessed to the crime, adding that he was “quiet satisfied with the murder.” He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 27 to serve before parole eligibility. A judge reduced it to 24 years minimum after Campbell filed an appeal.

Harley Starling

As 14-year-old Harley Starling slept on Halloween night, 2016, his 16-year-old brother, Nicholas, still angry over an earlier argument over Halloween candy, walked into his bedroom, baseball bat in hand, and beat him to death. Nicholas told detectives he struck his brother 14 to 15 times before retrieving a large knife from the kitchen, using it to slash his brother’s throat. Nicholas was charged as an adult in the murder, sentenced to 15 to life.