Elizabeth Case
07-20-2005, 06:33 PM
Remember this one - the 14 year old Guatemalan adoptee who murdered his
AMom?
© 2005 The State and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.thestate.com
Posted on Wed, Jul. 20, 2005
Teen gets 10 years in mother's killing
Adopted Guatemalan boy also gets four years probation for fatal
stabbing
By RICK BRUNDRETT
Staff Writer
Keith Clayton says he'll be there for his 16-year-old adopted son when the
convicted killer gets out of prison - possibly in about seven years.
The Red Bank-area man said he still loves the son he and Debra
Clayton adopted in 2002 from Guatemala - despite the fact the boy admitted
in court Monday to killing Clayton's wife of more than 15 years.
"I asked the court to get him some guidance and to try to get a
breakthrough to his past because he's very secretive," his father said
Tuesday.
Hugo Clayton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the
Nov. 12, 2003, stabbing death of the 33-year-old mother of five biological
children and two other adopted Guatemalan children. The boy, who was 14 at
the time, originally was charged with murder.
In a negotiated plea accepted by Circuit Court Judge James
Lockemy, the teen was given a 10-year prison sentence and four years of
probation. He could have received up to 30 years for voluntary manslaughter,
or a possible life sentence had he been convicted of murder.
With credit for time served, Hugo Clayton could be freed from
prison in as early as about seven years, Lexington County Deputy Solicitor
Dayton Riddle said. The teen will be transferred to adult prison when he
turns 17 in May, he said.
The teen told police he killed his mother in part because she disciplined
him for not getting up to go to work with his father, a painting contractor,
Riddle said.
The boy, who was home-schooled, also was frustrated because he
was supposed to speak only English that day, he said.
Hugo Clayton first agreed to a voluntarily in a family court hearing Monday
to be tried as adult; he later entered his plea and was sentenced in circuit
court.
Riddle said he agreed to the deal mainly because he was concerned a family
court judge would not have let the boy be tried as an
adult. If convicted as a juvenile, the teen likely would have been released
from a juvenile prison when he was about 18, the prosecutor said.
"I think he probably deserved more (prison time), but I certainly didn't
want to see him get any less," Riddle said.
Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network, said
Tuesday the sentence "on its face is not enough for a death."
"My biggest question is, how dangerous is this young man going
to be when he gets out?" she said.
Hugo Clayton's lawyer, Jack Duncan of the county public defender's
office, said his client's case is "one of the most tragic cases I've ever
been involved with in the 20-plus years I've been in the practice of law."
Psychiatric and psychological reports introduced during Monday's hearing
painted a bleak picture of the boy's life in Guatemala. He didn't know his
parents and lived much of the first seven years on the streets before
spending more than five years in an orphanage.
Reports indicated he has suffered from major depressive disorder, reactive
attachment disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and
brief reactive psychosis. He also has a borderline to low IQ, according to
reports.
Keith Clayton, who in January married a woman with three of her
own children, said he doesn't understand why the teen snapped.
"He was a good kid when he lived here. It's just inexplainable."
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.
AMom?
© 2005 The State and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.thestate.com
Posted on Wed, Jul. 20, 2005
Teen gets 10 years in mother's killing
Adopted Guatemalan boy also gets four years probation for fatal
stabbing
By RICK BRUNDRETT
Staff Writer
Keith Clayton says he'll be there for his 16-year-old adopted son when the
convicted killer gets out of prison - possibly in about seven years.
The Red Bank-area man said he still loves the son he and Debra
Clayton adopted in 2002 from Guatemala - despite the fact the boy admitted
in court Monday to killing Clayton's wife of more than 15 years.
"I asked the court to get him some guidance and to try to get a
breakthrough to his past because he's very secretive," his father said
Tuesday.
Hugo Clayton pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the
Nov. 12, 2003, stabbing death of the 33-year-old mother of five biological
children and two other adopted Guatemalan children. The boy, who was 14 at
the time, originally was charged with murder.
In a negotiated plea accepted by Circuit Court Judge James
Lockemy, the teen was given a 10-year prison sentence and four years of
probation. He could have received up to 30 years for voluntary manslaughter,
or a possible life sentence had he been convicted of murder.
With credit for time served, Hugo Clayton could be freed from
prison in as early as about seven years, Lexington County Deputy Solicitor
Dayton Riddle said. The teen will be transferred to adult prison when he
turns 17 in May, he said.
The teen told police he killed his mother in part because she disciplined
him for not getting up to go to work with his father, a painting contractor,
Riddle said.
The boy, who was home-schooled, also was frustrated because he
was supposed to speak only English that day, he said.
Hugo Clayton first agreed to a voluntarily in a family court hearing Monday
to be tried as adult; he later entered his plea and was sentenced in circuit
court.
Riddle said he agreed to the deal mainly because he was concerned a family
court judge would not have let the boy be tried as an
adult. If convicted as a juvenile, the teen likely would have been released
from a juvenile prison when he was about 18, the prosecutor said.
"I think he probably deserved more (prison time), but I certainly didn't
want to see him get any less," Riddle said.
Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network, said
Tuesday the sentence "on its face is not enough for a death."
"My biggest question is, how dangerous is this young man going
to be when he gets out?" she said.
Hugo Clayton's lawyer, Jack Duncan of the county public defender's
office, said his client's case is "one of the most tragic cases I've ever
been involved with in the 20-plus years I've been in the practice of law."
Psychiatric and psychological reports introduced during Monday's hearing
painted a bleak picture of the boy's life in Guatemala. He didn't know his
parents and lived much of the first seven years on the streets before
spending more than five years in an orphanage.
Reports indicated he has suffered from major depressive disorder, reactive
attachment disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and
brief reactive psychosis. He also has a borderline to low IQ, according to
reports.
Keith Clayton, who in January married a woman with three of her
own children, said he doesn't understand why the teen snapped.
"He was a good kid when he lived here. It's just inexplainable."
Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.
