Two 13-year-olds arrested in killing of 77-year-old woman, burglary in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Two 13-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with the killing of a 77-year-old woman and a burglary on the west side of Indianapolis, police said Friday.

One of the boys is accused of killing Cecelia O’Bryan in the 1800 block of North Warman Avenue. Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department found O’Bryan dead during a welfare check just before 11 a.m. Feb. 11.

IMPD detectives arrested the second 13-year-old for his alleged role in a burglary committed after O’Bryan’s death, IMPD spokesman Lt. Shane Foley told WRTV.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will determine formal charges against the two boys.

According to Indiana law, a judge can determine if children as young as 12 should be tried as adults for murder. Teenagers who are ages 16 or 17 and accused of murder are automatically tried as adults.

A juvenile law expert told WRTV's Vic Ryckaert that a 13-year-old cannot be waived to adult court on a burglary charge. However, If prosecutors determine that boy's role in the burglary was connected to the woman's death, prosecutors could choose to file a felony murder charge.

Anyone with information should contact Detective Ryan Clark at the IMPD Homicide Office by phone at 317-327-3475 or by email at Ryan.Clark@indy.gov.

People can also call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.