Less than six months into sentence, boy who shot Centralia teen could be released
A 15-year-old Centralia boy who pleaded guilty in the shooting death of 13-year-old Jaden Lee Krauss this year may be released early from the corrections facility where he’s serving his sentence.
In June, Circuit Judge Ericka Sanders sentenced the boy — who has not been named because he is a juvenile— to five years in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He has been serving his sentence at the Pere Marquette Youth Center in Grafton.
Now, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is considering releasing the boy early, WJBD Radio reported.
The department has not said why it would release the boy early. A department spokesperson was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Marion County State’s Attorney Bill Milner and members of the Krauss family attended a protest hearing this week to ask the department to reconsider the decision.
Milner told the radio station there was “no way” the 15-year-old had been rehabilitated in such a short amount of time.
At the sentencing hearing for the boy, the judge heard testimony from witnesses that Krauss died after being shot in the head during Russian Roulette-style game.
Originally, the boy who shot Krauss had said the teen was shot while cleaning the weapon. A weapon was never recovered during investigation.
According to Marion County Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Doran, after Krauss was shot, his body was carried down a flight of stairs and placed on the front porch of the house the teens were in. Doran also said bloody towels and rags were found in the home, and there was some evidence the gun was removed from the property and hidden.
Five years was the maximum sentence for the charge for a juvenile, but the actual length of incarceration can be determined by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice staff.
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