SIDA OSMAN - 5 yo - Fort Worth, TX

Body believed to be missing Fort Worth five-year-old



Posted on June 26, 2013 at 3:13 AM

Updated today at 8:01 PM


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FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth community is mourning the death of a child who disappeared on Tuesday night.

Fort Worth police said a child's body was found two blocks blocks away from where they had been searching for the missing five-year-old boy.

Carl Williams found the child. "It was sad," he said. "A little five-year-old, just laying there with his fists balled up like he had been fighting real hard... blood on his face, ears and mouth."

Police wouldn't confirm the body was the missing boy on Wednesday afternoon, and said investigators are working with Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office for a positive ID.

Sida Osman disappeared from his residence at the Weber Garden Apartments on the city's east side around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. His mother, Dahabo Abdi, said he had been playing in the complex in the 4800 block of Virgil Street, and ran away after being called to come home Tuesday afternoon.

Sida's father, Farah Osman, said he hadn't slept since his son went missing.

"I want him to come home," he said.

Police, along with volunteers, searched the area with dogs, horses, and helicopters Wednesday morning. Fort Worth police investigators took pictures inside a van near the Osman's home Wednesday morning. It is unclear what they were focusing on.

A child's body was found in the backyard of a house that had been vacant for six months. Police were canvassing the neighborhood looking for clues.

It was an emotional scene as the missing boy's family learned from others a body had been found. The community of mostly Somali immigrants started mourning at the terrible news.

"I just feel like now my kids aren't coming outside no more," said Lakesha Harris, a neighbor.

Just hours after the body was found, a coalition of friends and family members waved American flags and held up signs asking for justice and peace. Several Somalis who moved here from their war-torn country told News 8 they never thought something so horrible could happen to them here.

A pastor who works with the Somali community is upset Fort Worth police didn't issue an Amber Alert.

"This boy had been missing 13 hours, and no Amber Alert," pastor Johnny Muhammad said. "Well everybody now has cell phones, things on highways that you can put out an Amber Alert. I'm pretty sure somebody could have found something or seen something in that amount of time."

Police said the case didn't meet the criteria of an Amber Alert, and there was no evidence of foul play on Tuesday night.

Just hours after the body was found, a coalition of friends and family members marched through the streets waving American flags and holding up signs asking for justice and peace.

Several Somalis who moved to Tarrant County from their war-torn country told News 8 they never thought something so horrible could happen to them here.

http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?fId=213092281&fPath=/news/local/&fDomain=10247

Police: Boy, 13, fatally beat young neighbor in Fort Worth
Posted Thursday, Jun. 27, 2013

By Deanna Boyd and Bill Miller

dboyd@star-telegram.com, wmiller@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — A 13-year-old neighbor was arrested Thursday in connection with the fatal beating of a 5-year-old boy whose body was found Wednesday afternoon behind a vacant house not far from where he had last been seen riding his bicycle.

The teen, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, is accused of hitting Sida Osman repeatedly in the head with an undisclosed object.

In a statement, police said that the teen and Sida went into the fenced backyard of a house at 4801 Lois St. in southeast Fort Worth, where the teen became irritated with the boy “and hit him multiple times in the head, causing his death.”

News of the 13-year-old’s arrest was not surprising to Rick Stokes, founder of the Stokes Christian Boys Home in east Fort Worth, in which the teen had been involved for several years.

“This had been building up for years and years,” Stokes said.

Stokes said the suspect’s life has not been an easy one. While a baby, the boy’s father was sentenced to prison for several years. Upon his release, the father reunited with the family but later left the boy’s mother for another woman, leaving the boy feeling abandoned, Stokes said.

“He’s got a lot of rage and anger in him,” Stokes said. “Being a little kid, he didn’t know how to handle it.”

Stokes said the teen began acting out — running away, getting into fights, stealing items like bicycles, and, on occasion, threatening to kill others. He’d been in and out of juvenile detention and was currently on probation, Stokes said.

But despite his continued behavior and the mother’s claims that she was reporting his problems to authorities, Stokes said a monitor was never placed on the boy, nor was he returned to a juvenile correctional facility.

Stokes said the mother tried to help her son, even getting him placed on medication in attempt to control his anger but it didn’t seem to help.

“She was doing all she could. He had actually gotten to the point where he was physically abusing her,” Stokes said.

Most recently, Stokes said, the mother sent the boy to live with an older brother “to try to keep him disciplined and be a father to him.”

Stokes said he is not sure if the boy had returned to live with his mother or was just visiting when Sida went missing Tuesday evening. He said the teen’s mother had texted about the missing child.

“She said a kid is missing at our apartments,” Stokes said. “Would you pray that they find the kid?”

At the complex Thursday evening, the victim’s mother, Dahabo Abdi, sat with other women and children who came to offer support.

She said she did not know much about the police investigation or the arrest of the suspect, but she did say her son’s funeral would be Friday.

“He was a good boy and a nice boy,” she said, holding another child in her lap. “I don’t know what he did for him to be killed. All of the people loved him.

“With him, I had six children, but now it is five.”

‘I knew he was bad’

Stokes’ description of the suspect was repeated by numerous teens and other boys at the apartment complex where Sida lived with his family. They described the suspect as a bully.

Mohamed Ali Mberwa, 15, a native of Kenya, said he was acquainted with the suspect, but he was careful to keep him at a distance.

“He was just a person I would chill with, hang with,” Mberwa said.

But, he added, the suspect had a mean streak, and he liked to steal, particularly cell phones.

“He’d think it was fun,” Mberwa said. “And the night that the boy was missing, he was acting like nothing was happening.

“I knew he was bad, but I never knew he would do a thing such as this.”

Peace, justice, innocence

Sida was last seen playing outside the Webber Garden apartment complex Tuesday when his mother called for him about 6:30 p.m. and he took off on his bike, relatives said.

The family searched fruitlessly for the boy before calling police shortly after 10 p.m. to report the child missing. Police searched for him on foot and by horse and helicopter Tuesday night and Wednesday.

About 1 p.m. Wednesday, a woman delivering meals for a free-lunch program discovered his body in the fenced-in back yard of a vacant house about a block north of the complex.

An autopsy conducted Thursday determined that Sida died from blunt-force head injuries.

The discovery had prompted residents on Wednesday to quickly gather in protest, shouting “Peace and justice!” and holding signs reading “He was innocent.”

The apartment complex is home to several Somali families, many of whom had spent time in refugee camps in Kenya after fleeing unrest in their native country.

Though Sida’s parents were Somali refugees, the boy was born in the United States. He was to begin kindergarten at nearby Pate Elementary School in the fall.

Mberwa said Sida was famous for riding his bicycle through the apartment complex. But before his family gave him the bike, he’d borrow Mberwa’s, frequently without asking.

“He was a smart one,” Mberwa said. “But every time he’d do something wrong — like when he’d take my bike — he’d turn back and smile.

“I miss his smile.”

Young suspects rare

Sida’s death constitutes a capital murder offense because the child was under six years of age. Because the suspect is under 14, however, he is not eligible to be certified to stand trial as an adult in the case.

The teen is not the youngest murder suspect in Tarrant County history.

In 2007, an 8-year-old North Richland Hills boy was accused of killing his 9-month-old sister by dropping her down a flight of stairs. He was not arrested because of his age; Child Protective Services worked with his parents to obtain treatment.

In 1993, a 10-year-old Fort Worth boy was charged with drowning a 9-year-old while swimming in a creek. The boy was sent to a psychiatric hospital after it was discovered that he was emotionally disturbed as the result of long-term sexual abuse.

Researcher Cathy Belcher contributed to this report.

Deanna Boyd, 817-390-7655 Twitter: @deannaboyd

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/27/4968790/police-boy-13-fatally-beat-young.html#storylink=cpy

Sad that a young boy would kill another.  Despite his hard childhood he knew better than kill a young child.  William

Fort Worth teen gets 23 years for killing 5-year-old with bowling ball
By Matt Peterson 
12:06 pm on November 6, 2013



Five-year-old Sida Osman was briefly reported missing before he was found beaten to death not far from his home.

A 14-year-old boy admitted Wednesday to killing a 5-year-old neighbor with a bowling ball last summer because the child was irritating him.

The teen, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, was to be tried this week on a charge of capital murder in the death of Sida Osman. Instead the teen accepted a last-minute plea deal and up to 23 years behind bars.

“This is a heart-breaking case,” prosecutor Riley Shaw said in a written statement. “Sadly there is no amount of time that can make this better.”

The teen will begin his sentence in a juvenile lockup but could be transferred to prison after his 16th birthday.

Sida was killed June 25 after he and the teen went into the back yard of a vacant home in the 4800 block of Lois Street. The teen said the boy wouldn’t stop pestering him so he struck him twice in the head with a 14-pound bowling ball.

The boy’s disappearance triggered a frenzied search that ended the next day when a resident found his body and called police. Investigators quickly questioned the teen who confessed to the crime and led them to the murder weapon.

After the sentence, Sida’s mother addressed the court, telling District Judge Jean Boyd that her son’s death had been devastating.

“He’s only 5 years old,” the mother said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “He was innocent.”

The teen stood and apologized to the boy’s family before he was taken into custody.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/fort-worth-teen-gets-23-years-for-beating-5-year-old-to-death-with-bowling-ball.html/

Teen pleads guilty to killing boy with bowling ball

Posted: Nov 06, 2013 11:32 AM CST
Updated: Nov 06, 2013 11:44 AM CST
By: Lari Barager - bio | email
Adapted for Web by: Tracy Delatte - email

FORT WORTH, Texas -
A plea agreement was reached in the trial for the Fort Worth juvenile who killed his 5-year-old neighbor with a bowling ball.

The victim's family members cried silently as the now 14-year-old explained what happened and accepted his 23-year sentence.

The defendant said he and Sida Osman were playing together in the backyard of a vacant home in their neighborhood on June 25.

He threw a bowling ball at Sida because he was "pestering him to go to the store." The boy fell to the ground and he threw the ball at his head again "like spiking a football," the defendant said while looking down.

Sida was missing for almost a day before Fort Worth police found his body.

A translator helped his mother, a native of Somalia, understand what was being said in court.

She said life without her son has been very painful, but she didn't want the defendant to die. She does not believe in killing and likes the idea of him living in prison.

"I just want your family to know I'm sorry," the defendant said in response.

He will remain in juvenile detention at least until the age of 16. After that his future will be determined by the court based on his behavior. He may be moved to an adult facility for the rest of his sentence, or he may be paroled.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/23894399/teen-pleads-guilty-to-killing-boy-with-bowling-ball