The 17-year-old son of Mark Rayburn-Velco, who died after being stabbed multiple times on May 24, is almost certain to be tried as an adult for his alleged crimes.
The boy is accused of stabbing Rayburn-Velco, 58, and his husband, Brent Rayburn-Velco, at their North Side home on May 24 before fleeing on foot. He was arrested several hours later.
Mark Rayburn-Velco died after being rushed to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Brent was critically injured in the incident but survived.
The 17-year-old, whom Mark had adopted and raised, has been charged with delinquency murder in Franklin County Juvenile Court. In most circumstances, The Dispatch does not name juvenile suspects until the bindover process is complete and they are charged as an adult.
Here’s why he could face adult charges.
How does Ohio law allow teenagers to be tried as adults?
Under Ohio law, judges are required to send some teenagers who are charged with some violent crimes and who meets certain criteria to be tried as an adult.
Those criteria are:
Under the mandatory bindover provisions, a juvenile court judge is required to have a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to establish probable cause – meaning more likely than not – that the teen committed the alleged crime. If a judge finds probable cause, the case must be sent to the Common Pleas Court for the teen to face trial as an adult.
Teens who are 14 or 15 years old can be ordered by a judge to be tried as adults under certain circumstances that relate to the child’s alleged crimes and criminal history through a discretionary bindover process.
Whether 14- or 15-year-old teenagers are tried as adults requires a decision by a juvenile court judge based on the alleged crime, whether there is probable cause that the teen committed the crime, whether a firearm was involved, and the teen’s criminal history and ability to be rehabilitated through the juvenile justice system.
Do teenagers tried as adults get the same sentences as adults?
Teenagers who are tried as adults face the same possible sentences as adults who face the same charges. There are some exceptions in specific situations. Those situations include if a teenager were to be charged with a crime like murder that requires them to face trial as an adult, is found not guilty of that crime, but is found guilty of other crimes that would not force them to be tried as an adult.
Teens bound over to adult court can also be required to undergo competency evaluations to determine if they are competent to assist in their defense.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will the boy accused of fatally stabbing his father face adult charges?
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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