Burlington Police Arrest Three Teens for Murder of 10-Year-Old

The court is having trouble finding lawyers to represent the accused teenagers, so the suspects did not make a first appearance as scheduled Thursday morning.

However, Thursday afternoon, attorneys were appointed for 16-year-old Harold Jones and 17-year-old Dorthia Bynum. The 13-year-old boy will be in court Monday. The court has to decide whether or not he will be tried as an adult or not.

In order to determine how to try the juvenile, the court will look at what his involvement was in the crime and how brutal the crime was.

Officers arrested Bynum, Jones and the 13-year-old boy after they appeared at the police station voluntarily to answer questions. The three have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual assault.

The family of the victim is struggling to cope with the pain.

"We love Tiffany very much, and we miss her very much. Tiffany was a very happy child. She loved people, and she loved life," said Nancy Long, Tiffany's grandmother, during a public statement Thursday.

The families of the three teenagers are shocked. They say the teens knew the victim and lived in her neighborhood at one time. But they cannot believe the teens have been accused of these horrific crimes.

"This girl has been to home with my children, and she takes care of them very well," said Al-Nisha Jones. "It's depressing. It's very upsetting for someone to accuse her of such a crime."

Family and friends of the teenagers poured into the Alamance County courthouse Thursday morning to support the teenagers at a hearing that never happened because the judge could not find defense lawyers to represent the suspects.

"He's not ready to proceed at this point in time. He doesn't have enough lawyers yet. And what I understand that they are going to do is request that some of the attorneys who are not on the court-appointed list, but who are in fact very experienced trial lawyers here in Alamance County, to agree to take an appointment in this case," Johnson said. Home|Local News|US/World News|Search|Contents