THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609120332
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 71 lines
Police on Wednesday night charged a 14-year-old boy with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his 8-year-old half-sister.
Zackary Anthony Carter was picked up by police Wednesday, about 22 hours after Cierra Rose Carter was found dead, with a shotgun wound to the head, in her family's upstairs bathroom.
The boy was charged about 8 p.m. after being questioned by detectives, police spokesman Don Rimer said. He will be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. today in juvenile court.
The investigation is continuing, and additional charges are being considered, Rimer said.
Police picked up the boy, who goes by Anthony, shortly after 4 p.m. in the 800 block of Sandoval Drive, Rimer said.
Police had been looking for Anthony since Cierra was found dead in the family's home in the 800 block of Ringfield Road in Ocean Lakes.
She had apparently been shot in a bedroom, Rimer said.
Rimer said that after the shooting, the boy had been staying in nearby woods ``in some kind of shelter he had fixed.'' Police knew of ``absolutely no motive,'' he said.
Schoolmates of Anthony, who is an eighth-grader at Princess Anne Middle School, said he had been disciplined at school Tuesday and was concerned about how his parents would react. Police did not confirm that story.
An autopsy performed Wednesday determined that Cierra died of a single bullet wound to the head. A shotgun found in the house is believed to be the weapon used, Rimer said.
Traci Carter, Cierra's mother, found her daughter when she returned home from work at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
As Traci Carter entered the house, Rimer said, she saw her stepson leaving the house to visit a friend.
Traci Carter, Rimer said, then discovered something downstairs that ``alarmed her,'' and went next-door to get neighbor Jay Lowery. The two went upstairs and discovered Cierra's body.
Cierra was a student at Strawbridge Elementary School.
Police immediately began an extensive search for Anthony Carter that stretched into Wednesday and included K-9 dogs and a police helicopter.
``We checked with all of his known friends, all homes, all the wooded areas,'' Rimer said. ``All of these were checked and re-checked.''
Neighbors and friends, including members of the U.S. Navy who work with Cierra and Anthony's father, Zachary Carter, at the Dam Neck Training Center, expressed their disbelief on Wednesday as they attempted to comfort the family.
``It was just extremely surprising,'' said Dan Lear, a neighbor designated to speak for the family.
Lear said no one knew Anthony Carter well because ``the boy had only been in the neighborhood for less than a year.''
Anthony apparently came to live with the Carters last spring. He had been living with his mother in the western part of the state or in West Virginia prior to coming to Hampton Roads, family members said on Wednesday.
Since his arrival, no serious conflicts between Anthony and Cierra were apparent, neighbors said.
``I noticed the normal sibling arguments between a brother and his little sister,'' said neighbor Kyle Bloom, 18. ``But there were no huge rivalries or anything.''
A third child, 3-year-old Casey, was not in the home at the time of the shooting. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Cierra Rose Carter
Color photo
Zackary Anthony Carter
KEYWORDS: MURDER JUVENILE SHOOTING SIBLING ARREST by CNB