10-year-old boy in custody accused of killing former Louisiana mayor and his daughter

An 11-year-old boy is in custody after he confessed to fatally shooting a former Louisiana mayor and his adult daughter, a police official said Monday.

Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, and Keisha Miles, 31, were found dead Sunday morning after officers were dispatched to the former official’s home in Minden, a city of nearly 12,000 east of Shreveport, the city’s police chief said.

Chief Jared McIver identified the boy as a relative of Cornelius’ but declined to provide additional details and said authorities have not determined a possible motive. He said the child’s age limited what information police could release about his relationship to the victims.

Police initially said the child was 10, but in an interview Tuesday, McIver said police had determined through his school system that he was 11.

He is being held on two counts of first-degree murder and his bond was set at $500,000, McIver said. He said it was unclear whether the child has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Miles’ mother declined to comment other than to say she was heartbroken and that she had been advised by police not to speak publicly.

The bodies of Cornelius and Miles were found with multiple gunshot wounds, said McIver, who said that two handguns were used and that their magazines were emptied. McIver said the handguns had been hidden on the property and that the calibers matched shell casings at the scene.

A 6-year-old child who was at the home at the time of the shooting was not injured, McIver said.

The older boy told responding officers “a story at first that just didn’t add up,” McIver said, but by Sunday afternoon had confessed to the shooting. He said police were called to the scene at 6:30 a.m. and by noon, the child had confessed.

His grandmother — who is Miles’ mother — was with him at the time of the confession, McIver said.

Asked how the 11-year-old had accessed the guns, McIver said: “We can’t divulge that just yet.”

McIver said the child did not appear remorseful when interviewed by police.

“What I would say would be remorseful — sadness, sorrowful, apology, crying — none of those things happened,” McIver said Tuesday, adding that he recognized that people grieve differently.

Cornelius was a well-known community activist, City Council member and deputy ward marshal for the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, NBC affiliate KTAL of Shreveport reported.

In 2013, while on the City Council, Cornelius was appointed interim mayor after the mayor died in office, the station reported.

In a statement Sunday, Minden Mayor Nick Cox said he was grateful for Cornelius’ friendship and “the many ways he supported me and others in our city.”

“Joe Cornelius’s years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community,” Cox said, adding: “Let us come together as a community to honor Joe’s memory and support one another through this time of grief.”