‘They knew what they were doing’: Boys, 13 and 14, allegedly stab homeless man to death in robbery gone wrong

Police have charged two Maryland teens—ages 13 and 14—with murder after accusing the pair of stabbing a homeless man to death, according to NBC 4.

On Thursday, Prince George’s County police announced that Elias Portillo, 14, (pictured) will be tried as an adult and an unnamed 13-year-old will be tried as a juvenile in the murder case. They have been charged with first- and second-degree murder. The pair is believed to have fatally stabbed Francisco Sagastizado, 47, in an Adelphi, Maryland, park late last month, The Washington Post has reported.

The boys allegedly killed Sagastizado during a botched robbery attempt. WTOP reported that police say they stabbed the man after he refused to give them money.

Officers with the Maryland National Capital Park Police found the unresponsive victim at around 8:10 a.m. on July 27. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Our indications at this point are that they knew what they were doing. They, unfortunately, went to this level of extreme violence very quickly,” Corporal Tyler Hunter told reporters.

Authorities suspect that Sagastizado was targeted as one of the boys knew the man. Portillo is said to live a mile from where the murder occurred.

Charging documents obtained by FOX 5 indicate that Portillo was the assailant who stabbed the 47-year-old multiple times.

“It’s certainly troubling to us as a police department and certainly, understandably, to our community that two young people so quickly escalated to extreme violence that ultimately led to a man being killed over something so trivial as a small amount of money,” Corporal Hunter told WTOP.

Portillo is being held at the Department of Corrections in Upper Marlboro. The unnamed 13-year-old is being held at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Facility.

Corporal Hunter told reporters: “They are very serious charges, and they will be held accountable for the actions they took regardless of their age.”


[Featured Image: Prince George’s County Police Department]