Escaped Teen at Center of Double Murder Brought Back to Jail by Own Mother
A teen accused of killing two brothers escaped earlier this week but is now safely behind bars thanks to the actions of upstanding family members.
As WRAL-TV reported, 13-year-old Jericho Werrell had escaped the custody of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety on Tuesday.
Soon after escaping, however, the young fugitive must have realized that a life being hunted by the law isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Werrell spent one night in the Carolina woods and some time in an abandoned home previously owned by his grandmother. He eventually showed up at his uncle’s house wanting a shower and a meal.
“When I seen him, I said, ‘Baby, you know what we got to do,'” Werrell’s uncle said. “He said, ‘Daddy, I don’t want to go back.’ I said, ‘I know you don’t, baby, and daddy don’t want to take you back, but you’re going to have to go.'”
“I said, ‘Do you understand me?’ He said, ‘Yes, sir.'”
Family members worried that Werrell, on the run from a double homicide charge, could have been shot and killed in a confrontation with a police officer.
After securing some food and washing himself off, Werrell was eventually taken to the authorities by his mother. Video shows the moment he was led back into custody.
According to WPDE-TV, Werrell and a 19-year-old are charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of a pair of brothers in their 30s, Frank and Adam Thomas.
The two teens were arrested for the murders in October, local newspaper The Robesonian reported.
While Werrell’s escape was an extremely poor choice, the teen is fortunate to have family that were willing to coach him into doing the right thing rather than helping him live on the lam.
Not every mother would drive her own flesh and blood back to a juvenile detention center.
In a society that increasingly shuns personal responsibility and embraces victim culture, Werrell’s mother’s choice is welcome news. Although the lesson may be too late for this young man, it’s an important one to learn nonetheless.
If found guilty, the murder charges would undoubtedly change the course of the 13-year-old’s life forever.
It’s unclear what Werrell’s fate will be, but he’ll now have to stand and face the consequences for his alleged actions.
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