Oklahoma girl being held in juvenile facility for stabbing brother to death

The 12-year-old girl who stabbed her brother to death would have faced life in prison if she was a year older under a unique Oklahoma law that allows kids over the age of 13 to be charged as adults, but will instead likely spend a few years in a juvenile facility before being released home. 

DailyMail.com is not naming the child. On January 5, she stabbed her brother, Zander Lyda, three times in their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Their mother, April, was in the home and came rushing into her son’s room to screams. She thought he was having a nightmare until she noticed the blood seeping through his bedsheets. He had been trying to sleep when his sister came downstairs and attacked him. 

The girl, sobbing and shrieking, ran out of the home, screaming ‘I’m so sorry!’

Since then, she has been undergoing treatment at a juvenile facility in Tulsa. 

DailyMail.com is not naming the child. On January 5, she stabbed her brother, Zander Lyda, three times in their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is shown being placed in handcuffs afterwards

Zander, left, was lying in his bed trying to sleep when his sister attacked him. They are shown with their younger half-brother, who is three. He was not in the home at the time 

The details of her case are under seal, so many of the specifics of her crime remain unknown but her mother has claimed online that medication may have played a role in the tragedy.

Under Oklahoma Law, a child aged 13 or older can be charged as an adult for a crime like murder.

It’s unclear how far away the girl was from her 13th birthday but had the attack happened after it, she could have faced five years in a juvenile facility – and the rest of her life in an adult prison. 

Because she is so young, the court process is drastically different. 

After being charged, she has the option to either stipulate to the state’s petition – plead guilty – or request a trial. 

If a trial goes ahead, she could attempt an insanity defense, and even argue that she was under the influence or had been drastically impaired by the medication her mother claims may have been to blame. 

Her mother has not made public what that medication was. 

Carter Jennings, an Oklahoma Criminal Defense Attorney who handles juvenile cases, told DailyMail.com that she would have a low chance of success with an insanity defense because she threw the knife out of the window of her bedroom after running away from her brother’s bleeding body. 

‘The child threw the knife out the window. She tried to cover up her tracks, so I don’t know what level of success you’d have [with that defense.] 

‘We don’t really have a diminished capacity defense… even in juvenile cases, they legally could put one forward, but based on these facts I don’t think it would be a successful one.’ 

Pictured: The Family Center for Juvenile Justice in Tulsa, where the 12-year-old girl was being held after the fatal stabbing in January

If she is found guilty or stipulates, she will likely be sentenced to time in a juvenile facility. 

There are two in Tulsa, including the Tulsa County Juvenile Center, where she was taken after the attack. 

Her sentence will be focused on rehabilitation, and Jennings stated that the centers are ‘not fun’. 

‘It’s certainly not prison, but in terms of juvenile facilities – they’re under guard. 

‘They may be restrained by cuffs, eat at certain times, sleep at certain times. It’s not quite prison but it’s very serious,’ he said. 

He added that it would be highly unusual for the child to spend any longer than a few years in the facility – and that she almost certainly would not be there until she turned 18.

‘It’s unlikely it would go beyond 18 because of the young age of the child. This is very unique, but when someone is placed in a facility like that it can be for six months, a year, 18 months. 

April Lyda, the children’s mother, is standing by her. She has vowed to seek justice for both her daughter – who she believes was influenced heavily by medication – and for her son

Zander Lyda who was stabbed to death in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on January 5 this year

‘When you get past longer than that you are looking at something unique – which this is – but the child is just too young to have kind of serious consequence at that age. 

‘The law understands that a 12-year-old may not have all the decision-making abilities that an older child would. 

‘Barring something crazy, she likely will not be in a facility until she is 18. A couple of years would be a reasonable.’ 

The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, citing the fact the case is under seal. 

It remains unclear which part of the legal process the case is now in. 

In March, her mother told well-wishers who had donated to a fundraising page for the family that she was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. 

‘I’m very supportive of her and love her very much. 

‘Obviously there is a lot of healing that we both need before we can ever live together again and she needs mental and emotional help after this. 

‘She could have permanent, damage we don’t know yet, but she has not had any issues,’ she said in a more recent post. 

The boy’s father, Levi Lyda, has not commented.