DULUTH, Minn. - Prosecutors in St. Louis County are trying to convince a judge that there's enough evidence for a teenager to stand trial for murder.
The 17-year-old boy is charged in a juvenile delinquency petition with bludgeoning and stabbing 27-year-old Bryan Starnes at the victim's Duluth residence earlier this month. An autopsy showed Starnes' wounds were caused by a hammer and a knife-like instrument.
Police say the teen was the last person seen with the victim when he was alive. The Duluth News Tribune ( http://bit.ly/YMbzO3) reports authorities say the teen sold a hookah pipe and a PlayStation 3 console to his mother's boyfriend and that both items belonged to the victim.
If a judge finds probable cause for the murder charge, the county attorney's office will seek to try the teen as an adult.
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Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com
