Details in Neo-Nazi dad's slaying released

02:01 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Riverside Press-Enterprise

PDF: Declaration in support of an arrest warrant in the slaying of neo-Nazi leader Jeff Hall

The 10-year-old boy accused of slaying his neo-Nazi father told a detective after the shooting that he was "tired of his dad hitting him and his mom," according to a court document.

The declaration also describes the early morning May 1 slaying of Jeff Hall as he slept in his Riverside home. The document was redacted earlier today by a judge to remove the names of the five children involved, including the 10-year-old boy accused of the shooting.

The boy "told Detective (Roberta) Hopewell he knew his mom and dad had a gun and knew where they kept it. (The boy) said he went into his mom and dad's closet. He got the gun, a Rossi .357 revolver, from a low shelf in the closet.

"(The boy) said 'it was right there on the shelf'. (The boy) told Detective Hopewell that he went downstairs with the gun, pulled the hammer back, aimed the gun at his dad's ear while he was asleep and shot him. (The boy) said he went upstairs and hid the gun under his bed."

The court document also says the boy suspected his father of infidelity and was worried about whether he would have to choose between living with his mother or father.

The boy delayed entering his plea today during a brief hearing in juvenile court. He will make an appearance on July 22. His defense attorney was granted a request to have an expert do a psychological evaluation on the child to determine whether he can enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The document was filed in connection with an arrest warrant for the boy's stepmother.

Krista Faye McCary, 26, was charged late Tuesday with nine felonies of child endangerment and criminal storage of a firearm in the Riverside house where Hall was shot.

McCary is charged with five counts of child endangerment -- one charge for each of the children in the home -- and four counts of criminal storage of a gun, excluding a 3-month-old baby who would not have been able to access the weapon.

Prosecutors issued a warrant for McCary's arrest Tuesday, alleging that she was responsible for leaving the gun accessible to her children on a shelf in the home, Deputy District Attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez said.

As of this morning McCary had not turned herself in, he said outside the juvenile court hearing for the boy.

The shooting occurred shortly before 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning, where Hall was found shot on the family's living room couch.

Police have said the boy admitted to killing his father, though his defense attorney said he may plead not guilty by reason of insanity. McCary was not at this morning's hearing.

If found guilty of the charges, the boy could remain in juvenile hall until he is 18 or another youth detention facility until he is 25.

Hall was the leader of the Southwest chapter of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization, which has held rallies in Riverside and on the U.S.-Mexico border. He ran unsuccessfully for the Western Municipal Water District last year.

Hall had sole custody, along with McCary, of his son and 9-year-old daughter from his first marriage.

Hall and McCary also had three children together who were in the home at the time of the shooting.

Reporter John Asbury contributed to this report.

--RICHARD K. DE ATLEY

Comment:

The only comment I'm going to make on this is the boy's stepmother should indeed be charged with child endangerment and neglect. California has very strict laws regarding the storage of guns in houses with minor children in them. This would not have happened if the gun was kept locked up, or equipped with trigger guards as state law requires. This tragedy demonstrates that this law is extremely necessary.