Jurors convicted a young Indiana man for murdering his entire family amid a spat over him leaving home without permission.

Raymond Ronald Lee Childs III, then 17, was charged as an adult. His first trial ended in a mistrial after a witness asked him why he committed the act. This second trial ended with jurors finding him guilty in Marion County of six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of carrying a handgun without a license, records show. Sentencing is set for Jan. 7, 2025.

That attempted murder charge is regarding his younger brother, the sole survivor of the Jan. 24, 2021, tragedy. That teenager managed to escape with gunshot wounds to the leg and arm, leading to investigators finding the murder scene on Adams Street. There, they found six slain victims: Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Elijah Childs, 18, Rita Childs, 13, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and Kiara’s unborn son, identified by authorities as “Baby Boy Hawkins.”

More Law&Crime coverage: Woman murdered her parents and stashed their bodies inside ‘makeshift tombs’ in the family home for years while living on their pensions

As authorities have said, the shooting happened amid a spat over whether Childs III could stay the night at his girlfriend’s home.

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Judiciary

Federal appeals judge, 96, fails to overturn suspension order for refusing to cooperate in fitness probe

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 7, 2024, 3:32 pm CST

A 96-year-old federal appeals judge who refused to cooperate with medical testing to determine her mental fitness for the bench has failed to persuade a reviewing body that she is entitled to resume deciding new cases.

The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability ruled Wednesday against Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Newman was suspended from hearing new cases for a year in September 2023. The judicial council of the Federal Circuit imposed the suspension because Newman refused to submit to medical evaluations, provide medical records and sit for an interview. Newman had cited the opinions of her doctors, who say she is fit for the job.

The Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability affirmed the judicial council’s order.

The committee rejected Newman’s argument that the case should have been moved to another circuit, finding that the transfer decision is discretionary. It rejected Newman’s argument that rule violations by the council justified her failure to cooperate. And it rejected her contention that she was denied due process.

“Here, Judge Newman was afforded all the process she was due under the rules,” the committee said.

The committee also cited “voluminous evidence” justifying the order for medical testing. Affidavits and Newman’s emails illustrate interactions “that suggest memory loss, confusion, lack of comprehension, paranoia, anger, hostility, severe agitation and an inability to perform tasks that Judge Newman previously could perform with ease,” the committee said.

The committee also concluded that the one-year suspension of new case assignments, subject to renewal, was appropriate.

“Although the sanction is subject to renewal, unlike other suspensions, Judge Newman has the power to trigger reconsideration or modification if she decides to cooperate,” the Feb. 7 opinion said.

Law360, Bloomberg Law and Reuters have coverage of the opinion.

Bloomberg Law included a comment from Newman’s lawyer, Greg Dolin of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit civil rights organization.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed, but we intend to continue to press our claims” in a separate federal lawsuit pending in Washington, D.C., Dolin said.

The suit challenges the constitutionality of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, which governs the proceedings against Newman.

Dolin said Newman is prepared to take her case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.

See also:

“Speaking at ABA meeting, federal appeals judge, 96, doesn’t address her suspension but mentions opinion pace”

“Investigations of federal judges are rare and should happen more, former clerk says”

“Federal circuit judge, 95, flunked security training, displayed hacking paranoia, exam order alleges”

“Lawyer for federal appeals judge barred from new cases finds orders ‘incredible’ and ‘stunning’”

“Federal appeals judge should be suspended for failing to cooperate in mental fitness probe, report says”

“How can aging judges know when it’s time to hang up the robe?”

“Weekly Briefs: 96-year-old judge must mediate suit to keep job; DOJ reverses stance on Trump shield”