Mother of slain Calif. boy defends 10-year-old neighbor accused in fatal stabbing

(CBS/AP) EL CAJON, Calif. - The mother of a 12-year-old boy says the 10-year-old neighbor suspected of fatally stabbing her son is not a monster.

"Please don't make it out that he was this terrible human being," Lisa Carter told U-T San Diego.

The boy was stabbed in the 10-year-old neighbor's driveway, said San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Larry Nesbit. The younger boy's mother was home at the time but Nesbit didn't know if she was inside or outside.

The younger boy, whose name was withheld, allegedly stabbed the older boy with a kitchen knife and then waited as paramedics tended to his friend. A motive has yet to be established.

Neighbors said both boys were part of a group of about eight neighborhood friends who played together often. The 12-year-old lived in a nearby mobile home park but the two boys attended different schools. The younger child reportedly has well-known emotional issues, neighbors said.

A close friend of both boys, Cody Vales, said the two were "like best buddies."

The 10-year-old boy, whose name was not released by authorities, was taken into custody shortly after the stabbing. Steve Walker, a spokesman for the San Diego County district attorney's office, said prosecutors would decide how to handle the case after the sheriff's department finishes its investigation.

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January 17, 2012 - 10-year-old Calif. boy accused of fatally stabbing 12-year-old with kitchen knife