Feb 14, 2008 9:01 pm US/Eastern
Arson Suspect Wants To Be Tried As A Juvenile
BLAIRSVILLE (KDKA) ―
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Codee Wheeler, 17, is facing homicide charges for allegedly setting a house fire in Blairsville that killed her adoptive father. (File)
KDKA
A teenager charged with killing her adoptive father appeared in court today.
Prosecutors say 17-year-old Codee Wheeler, of Blairsville, set the fire that killed her father. She is charged as an adult, but the defense would like to have her charged as a juvenile.
Educators of Blairsville Area High School and family members of Wheeler went before a judge on her behalf.
In just a few weeks, a judge in Indiana County will decide if she needs to be tried as a juvenile or an adult. In the meantime, she remains behind bars with adults.
In just a few months, Codee Wheeler will turn 18. The supervisor of juvenile probation in Indiana County and a psychologist for the prosecution told a judge today that Wheeler should not be decertified to juvenile court.
Janice Bond, the head of juvenile probation, said she based her decision on the nature of Wheeler's alleged crime and statements she allegedly made to others before a fatal fire last July at the home of her adoptive parents.
William Wheeler died in the fire that prosecutors maintained that Codee Wheeler started with an accelerant.
Assistant District Attorney Pat Dougherty had his own statement of what would happen if Wheeler is tried as a juvenile.
"She's an intelligent girl, a bright girl, and there was a degree of sophistication. There was accelerant used and then the fire started," Dougherty said. "At the age of 21, she's free. She walks out the door."
Wheeler's adoptive mother and William Wheeler's wife, Sue, testified in support of the 17-year-old she considered her daughter.
Wheeler's defense attorney is Thomas Kauffman.
"She's never had a problem. She's a good student. She wants to go to college," Kauffman said. "She wants to be an accountant and she's continuing her education in jail. At 21, if she were adjudicated, she's let go."
Wheeler never told prosecutors that questioned her that she started that fire.
According to Wheeler's criminal complaint, she did not always get along with her adoptive father William. In fact, at one point she ran away from home and then returned to the Wheeler home in Blairsville.
A judge will make his decision in just a few weeks.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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