Claremont, California is home to the highly-regarded Claremont Colleges. The Claremont Colleges consist of five undergraduate institutions and two graduate schools.
In addition to the colleges, Claremont is also known as a family community. About 37,000 people are residents of Claremont.
The generally pleasant life in Claremont once in a while is interrupted by a particularly horrific crime. One such case involved a brother killing his sister. The occurrence of that homicide underscored how infrequent these types of cases are in Claremont. Prior to the murder in which a brother killed his sister, the last homicide in Claremont was about six years earlier.
14-Year Old Boy Murders 15-Year Old Sister in Family’s Claremont Home
A particularly grim Claremont murder involved a 14-year old boy killing his sister in the family home. The boy used a knife to kill his sister. The murder occurred at about 5:00 in the evening.
Both parents were away from the home at the killing. One parent was at work, the other had left the residence to run errands.
An unknown person made a call to 911 to advise of a disturbance at the residence. Emergency personnel was quick to respond to the scene, including the Claremont Police Department.
Directly after the police arrived at the scene, officers identified the 14-year old boy walking down the street, away from the residence and scene of the crime. When police officers approached the boy, he was cooperative. In addition, the police officers found a knife on the boy, which was believed to be the murder weapon.
The girl killed in her own home by her brother was a 15-year old. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime.
As of the time of the arrest, and even as court proceedings against the boy commenced, no motive for the crime had been released to the public. That has resulted in at least some speculation as to whether the boy charged with the crime has told law enforcement and investigators why he killed his sister.
The Aftermath of the Murder
The parents whose son murdered their daughter faced not only the traumatic grief associated with the death of their child, and the horrific circumstances surrounding that death. They had a third child who was not home at the time of the homicide, but who obviously was impacted by it.
The family was also faced with the need for crime scene cleanup after the murder in their home. Many people believe that law enforcement or the coroner’s office undertakes crime scene cleanup once an investigation of the scene. In fact, neither the Claremont Police Department nor the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office provides assistance with crime scene cleanup. Rather, crime scene cleanup is completely the responsibility of the homeowner.
Rather than undertaking crime scene cleanup on their own, this family sought the assistance of experienced, compassionate, discrete professional remediators. The best course for a family to take in this type of situation is to obtain professional assistance. Hiring a professional ensures that the crime scene cleanup is done right.
In addition to ensuring that the crime scene cleanup is correctly undertaken, hiring professional aid in protecting the physical and emotional wellbeing of the family of the deceased. A family has enough to deal with in the way of grief and mourning following this type of horrific incident. They don’t need to exacerbate the emotional toll already taken by adding personally undertaking crime scene cleanup onto their list of responsibilities.
Claremont Grief Support Resources
In the aftermath of a homicide that takes the life of a loved one, professional support may be needed during the grief and mourning process. There are Claremont therapists and counselors that provide assistance to individuals working through grief. These include:
Sharon D. Heaston, MFT
675 W Foothill Blvd
Suite 302
Claremont, California 91711
(909) 945-8894
Leslie Stone
445 W. Foothill Blvd.
Ste 109
Claremont, California 91711
(909) 332-3187
Jeanie Kieley-Chavez
428 W Harrison
Suite 101B
Claremont, California 91711
(909) 624-4283
The Case Against the Brother Who Murdered His Sister in Claremont
Prosecutors ended up charging the boy who stabbed his sister to death as an adult. The boy entered a not guilty plea. The defense has been fighting the determination to prosecute the 14-year old boy as an adult.
There has also been a discussion of the boy’s mental status at the time of his sister’s death. One of the arresting officers from the Claremont Police Department has publicly stated that the boy “exhibited a questionable mental status” at the time he was taken into custody, which was a short time after his sister’s death.
Photo Courtesy of The Wandering Angel