SIERRA ELLIOTT - 12 yo (3/12) - / Convicted: Brother, Levi Elliott - Bolivar, MO

Teen who fatally shot his 12-year-old sister in the head is sentenced to 30 years in prison - after she identified him as the killer while she lay dying

• Levi Elliott, now 17, was sentenced to 30 years for the murder of his sister Sierra at their Bolivar, Missouri home in March 2012
  
• While their parents were out, he shot her dead while she watched television and then fled in his dad's pickup truck, prosecutors said
  
• When the parents arrived home, Sierra could not speak but raised her hand to say 'yes' when they asked if her brother was responsible 
  
• He claimed that an unknown intruder had shot Sierra and then chased him from the home, but prosecutors called the story 'unbelievable'
  
• A school friend testified that Elliott said he hated his sister
  
• His father had pleaded with the judge for the maximum penalty
  

By Lydia Warren For Dailymail.com
Published: 10:54 EST, 8 January 2015  | Updated: 11:28 EST, 8 January 2015





A boy who was just 15 when he fatally shot his 12-year-old half-sister has been sentenced to 30 years in prison - after she identified him as the killer before she died.

Levi Elliott, now 17, was handed down 20 years for second-degree murder, five years for armed criminal action and five years for tampering with a motor vehicle at a Polk County, Missouri court on Wednesday.

His father had pleaded with the judge to give Elliott the maximum penalty, saying he feared the teenager was capable of murdering again. He must serve 20 years before he is eligible for parole.

It comes three months after the teen was convicted of shooting his sister Sierra in the head while she watched TV on March 24, 2012 at their Bolivar home. Their parents - his biological father and stepmother - had left them alone at the house together for 30 minutes.

Locked up: Levi Elliott can be seen in court during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday. The 17-year-old
was sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting dead his sister when he was just 15

When the couple arrived home, they found Elliott and his father's pickup truck gone and Sierra barely alive. She was unable to talk but raised her hand to indicate 'yes' when her mother asked if Elliott had shot her, the Springfield News-Leader reported. She died the following day.

After the shooting, he drove to a nearby payphone, where he called his biological mother and stepfather and told them an intruder had burst into the home and shot dead Sierra.

Operating the truck without consent or a proper license, Elliott drove to his mother's home in Kansas City and turned himself into authorities a day after the shooting.

Although there was no specific forensic evidence pointing to Elliott as the killer, there were inconsistencies in his story and no one else had the motive to shoot her, prosecutors told the court.

One of Elliott's classmates testified that they had heard him say he hated his sister and wouldn't care if she died, prosecutor Kenneth Ashlock, said, the Bolivar Herald-Free Press reported.



Killer: Levi Elliott is pictured left in his mug shot after his arrest. Prosecutors said he shot his 12-year-old half-sister
Sierra, right, in the head while she watched television at their Missouri home in March 2012

 Murdered: Sierra, pictured, was unable to speak when her parents arrived home but indicated 'yes' with
her hand when her mother asked if Levi had shot her. She died from her injuries the following day

In custody: Footage shows Elliott after his arrest, when he was just 15. After the killing, he fled the scene
in his dad's pickup truck and went to his mother's home before turning himself into police

Prosecutors told the jury that after 'ambushing' his sister in her parents' bedroom, Elliott 'told a story so unbelievable that it contradicts reason and all the evidence in the case'.
I now know what Levi is capable of: murder - and I believe he would do it again
Levi Elliott's father, James Elliott 
When Elliott spoke to his mother on the phone, he said he had been at home with Sierra when he heard a gunshot and rushed to the room where he saw a stranger with a rifle going through the family's drawers.

He claimed the gunman then chased him out of the house before climbing in a Jeep and following him as he drove away.
'His story is entirely improbable if not impossible,' Assistant Attorney General Josh Harrel said.

Harrel said that questions remained over how the teenager had been able to put on his shoes before running away and why the front door was locked when the parents arrived back home.

The boy's father had also testified that his pickup was hard to start and took time to warm up - even though the teenager claimed it was his getaway vehicle. 

    Plea: His father, James Elliott, pictured, pleaded with the judge to sentence his son to the maximum
sentence possible, saying he believed he could murder again. James Elliott was also the father of Sierra

Heartbroken: Levi Elliott's mother, Joy Adams, said she believed her son was innocent and had been abused by his father - but an investigation found the claims to be unsubstantiated

'His story is a fabrication not supported by evidence,' Harrel said, the BH-FP reported. 'He could not tell his mom and stepdad the truth, which was that he shot Sierra.'


But the defense argued that it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Elliott was guilty, as no blood was found on his clothes or on any of the guns taken from the home.


At the hearing, the jury had not been allowed to hear Peggy Elliott's claims that her daughter had indicated that Levi Elliott had pulled the trigger.


A judge ruled that no evidence showed that Sierra knew she was dying when she raised her hand so did not qualify as a dying declaration. It was ruled inadmissible at trial, the BH-FP reported.


Even though Elliott was 15 at the time of the killing, he was brought to trial as an adult.

During the sentencing hearing, Elliott's father, who was also Sierra's father, had begged for his son to get the maximum possible punishment of 30 years, KY3 reported.

'I now know what Levi is capable of: murder - and I believe he would do it again,' said James Elliott. 

Heading to prison: Elliott, who maintains he is innocent, will not be eligible for parole for 20 years

But his mother, Joy Adams, insisted that her son was innocent, telling the news channel: 'Five minutes in prison would have been too much for my son.'

After he was found guilty in October, she became ill and was rushed from the courthouse in an ambulance.

Elliott's sister, Ashley Elliott, told the judge should be lenient on her brother because he was mistreated by their father.

'He was paddled with a board on his backside, on the backs of his legs, and a couple times he would take the board and hit him across the face with it,' she said.

But Children's Services did not find evidence of abuse at the house, the judge said.

Elliott maintains his innocence.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2902034/Teen-fatally-shot-12-year-old-sister-head-sentenced-30-years-prison-identified-killer-died.html