The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

ORANGE,Texas- Dressed in a black suit with a blue dress shirt and tie and shackled at the ankles, the

14-year old son of Staci Lisenby stood before Orange Couny County Court at Law No. 2

Judge Troy Johnson today. The hearing is the beginning of the legal process starting with addressing juvenile custody laws.

Only family members and those in the Orange County judicial system were allowed in the courtroom. According to District Attorney John

Kimbrough,

all juvenile cases are completely confidential.

In Texas the minimum age for certification and transfer of a child to adult court is 14 if the charge is a capital felony, a first-degree felony or an aggravated controlled substance felony. Age 15 is the minimum age for certification and transfer for all other felonies.

On Tuesday, March

1, the son was taken into custody by the Orange County Sheriff's

Department. The juvenile is being held for the alleged shooting of his

mother pm Sunday, Feb. 20.

Mrs. Lisenby and her 14-year old son

were the only occupants in the residence at 2478 Oilla Road in

Orangefield at the time of the incident around 6 p.m. The Orangefield

teenager called 9-1-1 and told officers an intruder shot his mother then

fled.

Lisenby was rushed to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in

Beaumont. She was treated and transferred to the ICU unit where she died

the next day.

On Friday, Feb. 26, Orange County Sheriff Keith

Merritt released a statement that pointed at the teacher’s son as a

suspect in the murder. The statement withheld the name of the juvenile

and there was no mention of a murder weapon.

The son told

officers that he was laying on the cough in the living room and Lisenby

was sitting at a desk in the corner of the living room. He also told

officers that he heard a shot, turned and saw an unknown white male

running out the front door.

The Orange County deputies used a

probably cause affidavit to obtain a search warrant for the home and

property belonging to Staci Lisenby and her family. The Record

Newspapers has obtained a copy of the affidavit.

According to the

affidavit of probable cause, the son told investigators that he chased

the subject out of the door and to the left towards a wooded area. The

juvenile claimed that hen he realized he was able to catch the subject,

he returned to the resident and called 9-1-1. He also said that he did

not see the gun used to shoot his mother.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Lisenby was shot with a .22 caliber bullet.

Investigators

searched the area and began processing the crime scene. The Beaumont

Police Department K-9 Unit responded to the scene with bloodhounds. The

search did not reveal any evidence of an intruder.

On Friday,

Feb. 26, Orange County Sheriff Keith Merritt told the media key evidence

was found that confirms investigators beliefs that this crime was not

committed by a stranger. Merritt said the primary suspect was a 14-year

old juvenile.

According to the affidavit, the investigators

received information that the son found a .22. caliber revolver in the

attic of his home and kept it hidden from his parents.

The

investigators learned that in the week prior to the shooting, the son

had made statements to a juvenile friend that he was tired of how strict

his parents were and that he intended on killing them and running away.

The investigators also interviewed another juvenile who reported that

about one month ago, she and the son went out to the pond behind the

barn to shoot his pellet gun.

The juvenile stated that during

this time, the son asked her if she wanted to shoot the hand gun. The

juvenile female told investigators that she shot the revolver and that

the son took a picture of her holding the gun which she had been using

has her Facebook profile picture. Investigators viewed and a obtained a

copy of this picture which shows the juvenile female holding a western

style revolver.

According to the affidavit, investigators

conducted another interview on Feb. 22 of another juvenile. When asked

about the revolver, the juvenile said that the son indicated, "I got rid

of that pistol. It's gone forever."

The son of Staci Lisenby was

transferred to Minne Rogers Juvenile Justice Center in Beaumont on

Tuesday and will be arraigned later in the week.