The man convicted of killing a 16-year-old boy near the teen's high school in Northern Virginia was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but the victim's mother says that's not enough.
Vikki Wilson-Moore and a group of supporters demonstrated outside the Prince William County courthouse on Wednesday to call for prosecutors to charge four other people in the death of her son, Brenden Wilson.
“Five people were a part of his murder, and only one is being held accountable," she said.
Wilson died Nov. 10, 2014, after Kawain Smalls, who then was 25, shot and killed him on a path, known as "the cut," near Woodbridge High School.
Small had never met Wilson before he decided to avenge a confrontation between Wilson and Smalls' brother, prosecutors said. Smalls' sister was accused of luring Wilson to the area, telling him she wanted to buy marijuana.
“Brenden turned around to leave the cut, and all he was feeling was bullets," his mother said Wednesday.
Smalls said in a police interrogation that he began shooting because he thought Wilson was reaching for a gun.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Smalls got 50 years in prison, but Wilson's family feels the other young people involved got off easy.
“They all had a part in it. They all set this up," Wilson's aunt Cheryl Biller said.
Wilson-Moore said Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert would not explain why everyone who initially was arrested was not charged in connection to the killing. He did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Jeff Dion, director of the National Crime Victim Bar Association, said prosecutors often avoid going forward with some charges so as to get the prime suspect convicted.
“From a victim’s perceptive, however, it can often leave them to feel like people are not being held accountable for their role in this crime," said Dion, who is not connected with Wilson's case.
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, Wilson-Moore comforted her 13-year-old son, who fought tears as he held a sign with his brother's photograph.
