Boy, 10, Charged With Killing Dad

A ten-year-old Kansas boy has been charged with first-degree murder in the shotgun death of his father.

Robert Hamlin was found shot dead on his sofa Sunday night at his home south of Humboldt. Sheriff's deputies were told the boy had left the house with a 20-gauge shotgun. They found him about a quarter of a mile away.

The boy apparently picked up a shotgun the family kept in their home, placed it to the back of his father's head and shot him, according to local television station KAKE.

"The boy made some initial indications to other family members that he was also going to shoot the mother," Allen County Sheriff Tom Williams told the station.

The mother reportedly fled the home with two children, leaving two others behind.

The 10-year-old reportedly walked to a neighbor's home and turned himself in, still holding the weapon.

"I don't know that there are good explanations for something like this," the sheriff said.

The boy was charged as a juvenile. His name has not been released, and records in the case are sealed. A county prosecutor couldn't say if additional charges will be filed.

Juvenile offenders can be held in Kansas until they're 23.