90°F
weather icon Clear
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

Playground stabbing victim’s last words about love for family

People gather for a memorial vigil in the park that Michael Connor Verkerke, 9, was stabbed and killed Monday, Aug. 4, by Jamarion Lawhorn, 12, who is currently facing a murder charge, in Kentwood, Mich., Aug. 6, 2014. Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen said authorities were still investigating a motive for the attack. (AP Photo/Joel Bissell | MLive.com)
A woman carries a cross to a memorial during a vigil for Michael Connor Verkerke, 9, who was stabbed and killed Monday, Aug. 4, by Jamarion Lawhorn, 12, who is currently facing a murder charge, in Kentwood, Mich., Aug. 6, 2014. Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen said authorities were still investigating a motive for the attack. (AP Photo/Joel Bissell | MLive.com)
Community members write their thoughts on a memorial dedicated to Michael Connor Verkerke, 9, who was stabbed and killed Monday, Aug. 4, by Jamarion Lawhorn, 12, who is currently facing a murder charge, Kentwood, Mich., Aug. 6, 2014. Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen said authorities were still investigating a motive for the attack. (AP Photo/Joel Bissell | MLive.com)
People wait in line to write a note at a memorial for Michael Connor Verkerke, 9, who was stabbed and killed Monday, Aug. 4, by Jamarion Lawhorn, 12, who is currently facing a murder charge, Kentwood, Mich., Aug. 6, 2014. Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen said authorities were still investigating a motive for the attack. (AP Photo/Joel Bissell | MLive.com)
More Stories
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator yells as a New York City police officer detains her during a pro ...
34 taken into custody after pro-Palestinian protest at Brooklyn Museum, artwork damage reported
Lebanese men inspect a destroyed house that was hit on Friday night by an Israeli airstrike, ki ...
Hezbollah fighters shoot down an Israeli drone in Lebanon and fire rockets at an Israeli base
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the ...
Israel describes a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as a ‘nonstarter’
University of California, Santa Cruz graduate students and other academic workers in the UAW 48 ...
Police arrest 80 at Israel-Hamas war protest at UC Santa Cruz
ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 7, 2014 - 1:36 pm
 

KENTWOOD, Mich. — A relative says some of the last words from a 9-year-old boy who died after being stabbed on a Michigan playground were about how much he loved his family.

The Grand Rapids Press reports that Jim Stearns spoke for Michael Connor Verkerke’s family at a vigil Wednesday night at the site of the attack, for which a 12-year-old is charged with murder.

Stearns said the 9-year-old told his brother after he was stabbed that he would always love him. Stearns told those gathered for the vigil at the Pinebrook Village mobile home park that the boy’s death has left the family “absolutely numb.”

The 12-year-old boy pleaded not guilty in juvenile court and was ordered held until an Aug. 13 preliminary hearing. The Associated Press is not naming him.

THE LATEST
University of California, Santa Cruz graduate students and other academic workers in the UAW 48 ...
Police arrest 80 at Israel-Hamas war protest at UC Santa Cruz
By Kathy McCormack The Associated Press

Police in riot gear surrounded protesters at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to remove an encampment where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have blocked the main entrance to the campus.

Kristin Peterson tries to cool off with a cold bandana at Sonrise Homeless Navigation Center in ...
2023 set a record for heat deaths. 2024 could be even deadlier
By Seth Borenstein, Mary Katherine Wildeman and Anita Snow The Associated Press

The death certificates of more than 2,300 people who died in the US last summer mention the effects of excessive heat, the highest number in 45 years of records.

People react to the guilty verdict announced against former President Donald Trump outside Manh ...
Can Donald Trump be elected president as a convicted felon?
By David G. Savage Los Angeles Times

Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes. Here’s a look at the unprecedented legal questions Trump’s situation presents.