Three days before 11-year-old Eddie Werner vanished while selling candy door-to-door, the parents of the teen accused of killing him reportedly asked a judge to lock up their son.
The parents of Sam Manzie, 15, asked a family court judge on Sept. 24 to place him in a residential psychiatric treatment center in a bid to get his violent behavior under control, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported Friday.Instead, he was allowed to remain at home.
Last Saturday, Werner disappeared as he sold candy and wrapping paper for a school fund-raiser. His body was discovered Monday night in a wooded area between the neighborhoods where he and the suspect lived.
Authorities have not released the name of the suspect because he is under 18, but neighbors and published reports have identified him as Manzie.
On Thursday, prosecutors said they believe the suspect was molested by a 43-year-old New York man who met him through an online chat room and arranged trysts.
Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye said Stephen Simmons, 43, of Holbrook, N.Y., and the suspect met at New Jersey motels and at Simmons' home for sex several times over the past 13 months.
The boy's parents learned of the meetings and informed police. Simmons, who has been charged with third-degree sodomy and could face other charges, was arrested on Sept. 24 - the same day Manzie's parents made their request to the judge.
"These people had been crying out for help a week before the incident," the suspect's attorney, Michael Critchley, told the Star-Ledger. "Everybody should step back and pause a moment before they put this kid on a pyre and burn him."
Manzie faces murder, aggravated sexual assault and robbery charges. Prosecutors were reviewing whether to have him tried as an adult.
Acquaintances described Manzie as a loner and a bully, but others said he was an average teen and a good student with an interest in computers. He built his own Web page, which he filled with biographical tidbits and exhaustive information about his favorite rock band, Smashing Pumpkins.
He also explored other regions of the online world. Kaye said information found on a computer drive seized by prosecutors indicated the boy was visiting homosexual chat rooms, where he first met Simmons.