Taken from Schenectady Gazette
Not for a moment did the authorities believe it was an accident. Both girls had been shot in the head at close range. One girl had been shot five times, once directly between the eyes. The other girl shot seven times. A semi-automatic rifle doesn’t unintentionally go off 12 times.
A .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle that was found hidden in the attic of his mother and stepfather’s home was identified as the murder weapon. The hunt was on.
Newspapers across the country headlined the search for “The Boy Slayer.” Within a few days he was picked up by the police in South Dakota. At first he resisted, saying they had made a mistake; he wasn’t the person named James. After eight hours of interrogation, he gave in, finally admitting to the murders. According to South Dakota police, the youth showed absolutely no emotion or remorse when he confessed.
