9-year-old boy accused of shooting his mother to death in Michigan, officials say

FAWN RIVER TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A 9-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his mother in their southern Michigan home, according to court documents.

The woman was found early Monday morning in Fawn River Township, St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough told WWMT-TV. Fawn River Township is about 160 miles west-southwest of Detroit.

WOOD-TV first reported the charges.

The boy also is charged with using a firearm during the commission of a felony. Documents filed Tuesday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court show the woman was shot with a rifle.

"My wife and I both, when we heard that the woman was shot, we both looked at each other and said 'I bet it was him," Joseph Lancaster said Wednesday to FOX 17. "The little boy, because I have grandkids. I have one the same age and I've got smaller ones. And he would stand in the tree line over there and point his BB gun at him and shoot at them."

Lancaster also told FOX 17 that he would see the boy playing alone outside - but never with other children.

The Associated Press is not identifying the victim because to do so would identify the juvenile suspect. As of Tuesday, the boy was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at a state-run juvenile facility, according to county Sheriff Bradley Balk.

It isn't clear if he was charged as an adult or a juvenile. Authorities have not released the circumstances of the killing or details of why the child was charged.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

FOX 2 reported this story from Southfield, Mich.