New Mexico Adoptee Charged with Murder of Adoptive Mother and Adult Biological Daughter UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Tucumcari, New Mexico, 14-year-old adoptee Tony Day has been charged with murder of his adoptive mother Sue Day and her 49-year-old biological daughter Sherry Folts.

“New Mexico State Police arrested an adopted teenager Tuesday on charges of  shooting and killing the woman who gave him a home.

State Police said  14-year-old Tony Day also confessed to stabbing his adoptive mother’s  49-year-old biological daughter, Sherry Folts, to death.

What was once a temporary  foster home for hundreds of children was a crime scene Tuesday afternoon, as  State Police investigated the bloody aftermath they said was left behind by the  teen, accused of shooting his adoptive mother, Sue Day.

“He has not given us a  motive yet,” said New Mexico State Police Capt. Ryan Suggs. “But no doubt, this  is an unfortunate event, and you can’t make sense of it.”

Police said an older  adopted child and the suspect’s adoptive father, Mike Day, managed to restrain  the 14-year-old before calling police.

State Police said there  was also a 9-month-old [foster] child inside the home at the time of the slayings. The  baby girl is unharmed and is now in the custody of the Children, Youth and  Families Department, but her biological mother said she wants her child  back.

CYFD spokesman Enrique  Knell said Tony Day was a victim of child abuse at the hands of his biological  parents.

“They’ve taken in anywhere  from 80 to 100 children,” Knell said. “They were a family that we could rely on  in the middle of the night.”

Tony Day, charged with two  open counts of murder, was being held at the Quay County Juvenile Detention  Center on Tuesday night.”

 

Police: Adopted child charged in parent’s slaying

[KOAT 11/27/12]

“Police said the teen shot his adopted mother, then stabbed her daughter.

His adopted father and an older brother were able to restrain him.

Police are still struggling to understand what provoked him.”

Police: Adopted child allegedly kills foster mother

[ABC57 11/28/12 by Peter Johnson]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:”The murder trial of 15-year-old Tony Day, accused of killing his adoptive mother and sister in their Tucumcari home on Nov. 26, 2012, is now scheduled to begin on Oct. 21, even though defense attorney Jeffrey Buckels is asking for more time to prepare, the Quay County Sun reported.

Buckels said in a report filed June 18 that he still needs time to gain access to state Children, Youth and Families Department records that apply to the case and to allow experts to study those records, the Sun said.

District Attorney Tim Rose said he’d like the prosecution to have access to those same records and find its own expert witnesses, but he said the prosecution is ready to go to trial in October, the paper reported.

State District Judge Albert Mitchell said at the June 18 hearing that he would like to see the case resolved sooner rather than later, according to the Sun.

Day, who was 14 years old at the time of the killings, will be tried as an adult, the Sun said.

State Police have said that Day shot his adoptive mother Sue Day and stabbed her daughter Sherry Folts to death on the night of Nov. 26, 2012, the paper reported.

Day has been held at the Quay County Juvenile Detention Center since that time.”

“The trial of Tucumcari teenager Tony Day, accused of killing his adoptive mother Sue Day and her daughter Sherry Folts last November, is likely to be delayed from its current Oct. 21 setting because of defense attorney Jeffrey Buckels’ trial schedule and the time required to process records and evidence in the case, the Quay County Sun reported.

At a hearing Tuesday, Buckels, Deputy District Attorney Kirk Chavez and state District Judge Albert Mitchell appeared to agree that a delay would be necessary, although Mitchell reminded attorneys that state statutes limit how long a juvenile can be held before trial, the Sun said.

Day has been held in the county’s juvenile detention facility since his arrest last November.”

UPDATED: Delay likely in Tony Day trial[Albuquerque Journal 7/18/13]

“Double-murder suspect Tony Day will be sentenced as a juvenile if he is found guilty of two counts of murder in the deaths of Sue Day, his adoptive mother, and Sherry Folts, Day’s daughter, Tenth Judicial District Judge Albert Mitchell ruled on Friday.
Mitchell’s decision followed two and a half days of testimony in a hearing to determine whether Day, who was 14 at the time of the killings, would respond well to behavioral health treatment.
Mitchell decided after hearing and reading the testimony in the case that Day would be responsive to such treatment.
A date for determination of Day’s guilt or innocence has not been scheduled, Day’s defense attorney Jeff Buckels said.
Day killed Folts, then Sue Day on the night of Nov. 26, 2012, both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree, and committed the slayings in a way that looked carefully planned.
Buckels, a public defender from Albuquerque, said he was “satisfied, obviously,” with the judge’s decision.
“The judge acted responsibly,” he said, but added, “Our hearts go out to the Day family for their loss.”
Tenth Judicial District Attorney Tim Rose said, “The law makes it very complicated” to deal with a murder involving a 14-year-old, adding, “These murders scream out for accountability.”
Rose said he will not accept a plea for any crime less than first-degree murder.
Despite his disappointment with the decision, Rose said, “I hope Day does well in treatment, and I hope the public remains safe.”
The maximum sentence allowed under the ruling would keep Day locked up in a state juvenile facility until he reaches age 21.
Mike Day, Sue Day’s husband, said he would accept the judge’s decision
“I don’t want to appeal it,” he said. “I don’t want to put my girls through that again,” he said of his daughters who attended the hearing.
Sabra Williams, a daughter of Mike and Sue Day, said the court “totally deserted my mother and sister. The court did not fully appreciate the nature of the murder. Tony gets to live his full life, while we don’t get to enjoy the company of our mother and sister. They’re not here to speak up because he took their lives.”
Scott Day, Tony Day’s adopted brother who is about a year older than Tony, said, “It was a stupid decision because the judge pretty much told ever kid they can kill two people and brag about it, then get away with it.”
In announcing his decision Mitchell said that Day had committed an “outrageous crime” in which he lay in wait for his victims and had opportunities to pause and reconsider before committing the killings.
Mitchell said, however, he had to consider other factors, including home life and social and emotional health, due to Day’s age.
Home life in the Day household, he said, was “chaotic,” which was the wrong atmosphere for Tony Day after he had experienced traumatic abuse and neglect as a younger child, and constant shuffling between homes as a foster child.
The Day home, he said, was chaotic before Tony was adopted and after he was adopted, Mitchell said, not faulting the Days, who, he said, were foster parents to as many as five children of varying ages at a time.
The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, he said, knew about difficulties with the Day household for at least two years before the murders occurred, Mitchell said, and the Days even asked for help.
“The department tried,” Mitchell said, but nothing was done.
‘“People who should have known how bad the situation was (for Tony) never spoke up,” Mitchell said.
Other factors that went into his decision, Mitchell said, include Day’s exemplary record as a student and athlete, and his clean criminal record.
“I see a lot of young people who have gone to jail for hurting people,” Mitchell said, “They do it again and again. That’s not what happened (in Day’s case). He cared for others.”
Day did not feel he had the option of just running away from the home, Mitchell said, because he felt that the adult world would continue to treat him “like property, like a toy. That was his reality.”
The morning was taken up with testimony from Dr. George Davis, who conducted the study of Day’s amenability to treatment that the court had ordered.
Under questioning from Buckels, Davis said Tony Day had experienced severe abuse and neglect as a young child, which left him “hyper vigilant” and “hyperaroused” for perceived threats. In addition, he said, Tony Day developed a strong mistrust of adults.
Day, he said, developed a protective attitude toward weaker and younger children and an anger toward perceived abuses of power.
Day had never really found himself in a stable, loving home, Davis said, but his attempts to form attachments with teachers, coaches and others who offered kindness and support, he said, demonstrated that Day had a yearning for a stable situation.
Placing Tony Day into Mike and Sue Day’s home, he said, was not proper for someone like Day, who needed calm and stability. The Day home, Davis said, combined the instability of many children coming and going, due to the Days’ active foster parenting, and a “harsh” parenting style that included physical punishment from Mike Day, which made Day’s highly aroused state even worse.
Davis said Tony Day would respond well to treatment because he is intelligent and likes school, he is interested in sports and shows a willingness to help others, especially younger children. In addition, Davis said, Day was not involved with drug abuse or repeated showings of severe poor judgment that less responsive young people often show.
In closing arguments, Rose repeated the description of how the murders were committed, emphasizing their violence and the methodical way they were carried out, and pointed out that another psychologist, Dr. Elizabeth Dinsmore, had said Day’s symptoms had a low likelihood of being corrected. During his description, one family member was overcome with emotion and was led out of the courtroom.
In addition, Rose said, first-degree murder is an exception to crimes for which a child of 14 can be tried as an adult without regard to age.
Closing for the defense, Buckels said that most witnesses had called Tony Day a “great kid,” and that the state could “make something of him.” State juvenile authorities, he said, can “roll up their sleeves” and make a plan to rehabilitate Day.
The prosecution, he said, did not show that this approach was inappropriate.”

Tony Day will be sentenced as juvenile, judge decides[Quay City Sun 7/25/14 by Steve Hanson]

“Tony Day, 15, who killed his adoptive mother and sister in November 2012, was sentenced Thursday to be incarcerated and treated by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department until he is 21.

Tenth Judicial District Judge Albert Mitchell accepted Day’s plea of guilty to two counts of first-degree murder before passing sentence.

Day killed his adoptive mother, Sue Day, and her daughter, Sherry Folts, on Nov. 26, 2012. Folts died of asphyxiation and stab wounds. Sue Day was shot to death. Tony Day was 14 when he committed the slayings.

At Thursday’s sentencing, Day and his attorney stood as Mitchell asked Day if he were aware that he could change his mind about entering a plea. Day said, “Yes, sir.” Mitchell then asked if Day knew he was pleading to first-degree murder charges, and Day said he was aware that was the charge, and he acknowledged his plea without further comment.

On July 25, Mitchell decided after hearing three days of testimony that Day would likely respond well to behavioral health treatment and that Day would be sentenced as a juvenile if he were found guilty of murder.

Day’s age at the time of the slayings gave Mitchell some discretion in whether Day should be treated as an adult or a juvenile, he said.

Family members of the victims read statements Thursday after Day received his sentence. They expressed outrage at the judge’s decision.

Bobbi Wilson, Sue Day’s daughter, said “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get over” the murder of her mother.
John Wilson, Bobbi’s husband, said of Tony Day, “He thinks like an adult. He brutally murdered Sue and Sherry and planned it like an adult, and yet the court has deemed him a juvenile. I would like the court to (impose) the maximum sentence it can impose on him.”

Another daughter, Sabra Williams, said in a statement read to the court, “The only thing my family did wrong was to care and try to give him (Tony Day) a family to be part of and show him that not everybody just throws you away.”

To Tony Day, she said, “you are an evil person who took two very special people from us. I believe with all my heart that you will kill again when things don’t go your way. I pray for anybody that ever becomes a part of your life, because you are a self-absorbed, evil person.”

Of Sue Day, Williams said, “Mom’s only fault was loving you (Tony). Sherry, as you know very well, had the sweetest and giving heart.”

Mitchell said that while he would give CYFD discretion in Day’s rehabilitation program, he would honor a request from Tenth Judicial District Attorney Tim Rose to recommend that Day remain in custody until he turns 21 and require that Rose be informed any time Day’s location is changed in order to protect family members who live in the Albuquerque area.

When Mitchell announced his decision to sentence Day as a juvenile in July, he said he had to consider factors that included past abuse and neglect, home life and social and emotional health, due to Day’s age.

Other factors that went into his decision, Mitchell said, include Day’s exemplary record as a student and athlete, and his clean criminal record.

“I see a lot of young people who have gone to jail for hurting people,” Mitchell said, “They do it again and again. That’s not what happened (in Day’s case). He cared for others.””

Tucumcari teen accepts murder plea[Clovis News Journal 8/14/14 by Steve Hanson]