*Original Story from 2021
A teen slaughtered his family, police say. The father's last words were 'I love you.'
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A teen slaughtered his family, police say. The father's last words were 'I love you.
Justin L. Mack
Indianapolis StarAdams Street shooting: 'We are tired of this senseless killing.'
The horror on Adams Street began with an argument that plays out in nearly every American family with a teenager: a battle over staying out too late. This one, though, didn't end in a grounding or scolding. Police and prosecutors say it ended in the worst mass killing in Indianapolis in more than a decade.
A family — mom, dad, two siblings, a pregnant teen and her unborn child, less than a week from entering the world — were slaughtered. Another brother escaped and tried to buy his life with $40. He was shot and left for dead but became the sole survivor of the massacre.
According to that surviving 15-year-old, his father's last words to the son who allegedly killed him were "I love you."
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday that Raymond Ronald Lee Childs III has been formally charged with six counts of murder, attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license in Marion County. At just 17 years old, Childs cannot be put to death. But he could face up to life in prison, if he is found guilty of the murders.
The 17-year-old was arrested Monday at the home of a relative just one day after his family was found slain in the near-northside home they shared.
Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Elijah Childs, 18, Rita Childs, 13, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and her unborn baby boy were pronounced dead after being found in that home shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday.
Officials said Hawkins was in a relationship with Elijah Childs. The other victims were all immediate family.
'I think they're dead'
According to court documents released Thursday, IMPD officers were called to the 3300 block of East 36th Street shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday on a report of a person shot.
Police found a 15-year-old suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the front porch of a home. The boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Before being rushed into surgery, the boy told police that he had been shot by his own brother, the younger Raymond Childs.
When asked about his parents, the 15-year-old told police, "He shot them. I think they're dead."
Police found the front door of the teen's home open. Inside the two-story brick house, they found five victims.
Every member of the Childs family found in the residence was pronounced dead at the scene. Hawkins was taken to Eskenazi Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Her baby boy, just a week shy of his due date, was delivered via emergency cesarean section but was declared dead upon delivery.
Court documents said Raymond and Kezzie Childs died from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. Elijah Childs and Kiara Hawkins died from single gunshot wounds to the head, and Rita Childs died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
An autopsy of the unborn child determined that he died due to his mother being shot. He was full term.
'Please don't kill me'
By Sunday afternoon, the 15-year-old boy had survived surgery at Riley Hospital for Children. According to court documents, he told police in separate interviews that Childs had gotten into trouble that night for leaving the house without permission.
The teen said he was downstairs with his parents when his father asked him for some water. As he filled the bottle in the bathroom, he heard two gunshots followed by his little sister yelling, "Raymond shot Elijah!"
Court documents said the teen heard another gunshot. His father said, "I'm sorry Raymond; I love you."
Another six or seven shots went off.
The 15-year-old said he ran out of a side door when the shooting stopped, but his brother chased him down.
The teen pleaded with his big brother, court documents said. "I can give you forty dollars. I won't say nothing. Please don't kill me."
The shooting victim told investigators that his brother looked at him before shooting him in the leg and arm with a Draco 7.62. He said Childs then fired at his head but missed.
The teen ran to a neighbor's house and banged on the door for help.
Police later found four 7.62 cartridge casings and money covered with blood near that spot.
At the house on Adams Street, police found eight fired 9mm cartridge casings, six fired 7.62 cartridge casings, a 9mm handgun and a box of 7.62 ammunition.
Tracking Raymond
Friends and family told police that 17-year-old Raymond Childs III was the only family member who lived at the home who was not accounted for. Neighbors also said a white Chrysler with fancy rims was not at the home.
They soon found that Chrysler at the home of Childs' girlfriend. Police made contact with the girlfriend following a traffic stop.
She told police that Childs went to her house to spend the night Saturday, court documents said. He got a phone call from his father telling him to go home, and he did.
Childs returned to his girlfriend's house between 2 and 3 a.m. Sunday driving a white Chrysler she had never seen before. Childs had two bags of clothes with him and told his girlfriend that his dad kicked him out.
A Draco 7.62 recovered by police as they investigated the Adams Street killings.
About 30 minutes later, the girlfriend got alerts on her phone about the shootings at 36th Street and Adams Street. Childs said he didn't know anything about the incidents.
The girlfriend later convinced Childs to go back home after talking to his other family members, court documents said. She told police that Childs was nervous, and when they got there, he began crying and "acted a clown."
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